Brady over Winston an easy decision for Bucs

TAMPA, FLA. » The decision to pursue Tom Brady in free agency was a no-brainer for the Buccaneers.

That’s not to suggest a lot of thinking and planning didn’t go into it.

In snaring the six-time Super Bowl winner, who signed a two-year, $50 million contract that’s fully guaranteed, the Bucs also pulled the plug on trying to develop a talented and much younger Jameis Winston into a championship quarterback.

The first overall pick from the 2015 draft, the 26-yearold Winston has been wildly inconsistent over the first five seasons of his career. There were flashes of brilliance on the way to becoming Tampa Bay’s all-time leading passer, but also a league-leading 111 turnovers that hindered the team’s prospects for success.

Brady, who’ll turn 43 in August, has been one of the best ever at protecting the ball, leading the Patriots to nine Super Bowl appearances, 13 AFC championship games and 17 division title in 20 seasons with New England.

Bucs coach Bruce Arians and general manager Jason Licht are confident Brady can still play at a high enough level to not only end Tampa

Bay’s 12-year playoff drought, but win another Super Bowl — or two.

“He is a Buccaneer today not for what he has done in the past, but for what we know he can accomplish here in the near future as well,” Licht said. “We know that Tom is going to have a transformative effect in our locker room, and he is going to demand the best out of himself, his teammates and anybody that is around him.”

Three factors that made it an easy decision to seek Brady as a replacement for Winston: