Did The Brady, Arians Relationship Sour In Tampa?

It’s been over two weeks since Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady announced his retirement and we are no more certain than we were several days prior to that whether he will play in 2022.

That has fueled plenty of speculation about why he made the announcement and whether or not it is a ploy to get out of Tampa Bay. One such story comes from a former Patriot teammate of Bradys, Rich Ohrnberger.

“Heard some interesting things recently,” Ohrnberger tweeted. “The Tom Brady & Bruce Arians honeymoon was over in Tampa. The retirement announcement wasn’t because of the trouble seeing eye to eye on the offensive game planning, but the relationship was souring.”

“Apparently, while Arians was rehabbing the Achilles in the early mornings, offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich and Brady would work on the week’s game plan. Arians would later come in and take the red pen to work they’d done. The QB and OC felt undermined, there was tension.”

If the details of the story are true, it would not be shocking to hear that Brady wanted out after just two seasons. In addition, it also adds fuel to the theory that Brady isn’t quite done yet and that this situation could eventually land him elsewhere for a season.

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Something that could lend credibility to this story, and that is provable, is the Buccaneers’ play-action usage in 2021. For his entire career, Brady has been one of the best, if not THE best, play-action quarterback in the NFL. He remained that during the entirety of the 2021 season as he led the league in passing attempts. However, inexplicably, the Buccaneers used play-action just 17.9 percent of the time, per Pro Football Focus. That puts Brady 27th among qualified players.

Brady deciding to walk away is no way an indication of a fall-off in play. He led the league in yards and touchdowns, among other things, and many believe he was the real MVP of the league. So, why did he walk away? Well, it could very well be his family, or, perhaps, all he is doing is walking away from Arians.