The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are not giving up hope that Tom Brady might still return to play for the Florida franchise next season despite announcing his retirement on 1 February. No wonder, after all, the quarterback has left himself a back door open.

Munich/Tampa Bay – As we all know, hope dies last. So it is with the Tampa Bay Bucceneers and Tom Brady. Although the quarterback announced his retirement from the NFL on 1 February, he left himself a tiny little loophole – because in a podcast he said in response to the question of whether he might come back: “Never say never.”

And it is precisely on this that the Bucs are now basing their hopes of convincing him to retire after all. NFL insider Ian Rapoport reports that Tampa Bay would even be willing to do “everything possible to get him back on the team”. According to Rapoport, there is no limit to what he can do.

Bucs may look to sign big name

If Brady does turn his back on the NFL for good, Rapoport says the Buccaneers are looking to make a big push in the quarterback market this offseason, with names like Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson already circulating in Tampa Bay.

The problem with the two signal callers is that the 26-year-old Watson didn’t play a single game last season after submitting a trade request to the Texans and more than 20 allegations of sexual misconduct were made against him, which are still currently the subject of civil lawsuits, a police investigation and an NFL investigation.

The names Watson and Wilson are circulating in Tampa Bay

Watson has denied any wrongdoing to this day. The three-time Pro Bowl participant has made it clear he will no longer play for the Texans, and there are sources close to the franchise who claim Houston is still seeking a trade before the new league year begins on March 16

Wilson, in turn, reiterated in a “SiriusXM” interview that his “hope and goal is to come back (to Seattle) and continue to win there,” and his relationship with Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll, who speaks with Wilson regularly, is closer than ever. That won’t stop teams in doubt from inquiring, however, as they did a year ago.

“No-trade clause” in contracts

Both Watson and Wilson have a “no-trade clause” in their contracts, meaning they would have to agree to any deal themselves first.

Other teams that could be interested in a quarterback trade are the Denver Broncos, Carolina Panthers, New Orleans Saints and the Washington Commanders.

Maybe the Bucs don’t even have to participate in this quarterback merry-go-round – because as already written: With Tom Brady, hope dies last.