Bucs sign ‘excited, humble, hungry’ Brady
For now, there are four Super Bowl quarterbacks in the NFC South, including a newcomer.
Some guy named Brady. Tom Brady’s monumental move from New England, where he won six NFL titles, to Tampa Bay has him joining New Orleans’ Drew Brees, Atlanta’s Matt Ryan, and Carolina’s Cam Newton — who is on the way out. Teddy Bridgewater will be the man with the Panthers, who have told Newton he can look for a job elsewhere.
And the NFC South added another major star in Todd Gurley. One day after the Rams cut their highpriced running back, he landed in Atlanta.
Brady, of course, is the headliner wherever he is. On Friday, he made it official that the Buccaneers are his team.
“Excited, humble and hungry. … If there is one thing I have learned about football, it’s that nobody cares what you did last year or the year before that,” Brady wrote on social media.
“I look forward to meeting all my new teammates and coaches and proving to them that they can believe and trust in me,” the fourtime Super Bowl MVP added. “I have always believed that well done is better than well said, so I’m … not gonna say much more. I’m just gonna get to work!’’
He could have his work cut out for him: The Bucs haven’t made the playoffs in 12 straight seasons.
Gurley, the two-time All-Pro running back from Georgia was released minutes before $10.5 million in his contract with the Rams became fully guaranteed. Gurley was the 2015 Offensive Rookie of the Year and 2017 NFL Offensive Player of the Year. Atlanta needed to replace Devonta Freeman, who was released.
Also Friday:
A Denver agreed to a two-year deal with former Chargers running back Melvin Gordon that is worth $16 million with all but $2.5 million guaranteed. Although his new deal is less than the $10 million annually Gordon turned down from the Chargers during an unsuccessful holdout last season, it allows him to face his old team twice a year and to hit free agency again in 2022 at age 28. His $8 million annual salary also ranks fourth in the NFL among running backs.
A Saints left guard Andrus Peat agreed to a five-year contract keeping him in
New Orleans and virtually ensuring the entire 2019 starting offensive line will return. The deal is worth a total of $57.5 million.
A The Steelers added tight end Eric Ebron on a twoyear deal, as well as guard Stefen Wisniewski, who won a Super Bowl with the Chiefs. And Pittsburgh made a rare in-division trade, acquiring backup defensive tackle Chris Wormley and a seventhround pick from Baltimore for a fifth-round pick in this year’s draft.
A Defensive lineman Everson Griffen’s agent, Brian Murphy, announced they ended talks with the Vikings “because [Minnesota has] to spend their money elsewhere and we decided to now focus our attention on free agency.” The Vikings’ longest-tenured player, Griffen, 32. had 74 1⁄ sacks
2 in 10 seasons.
A Carolina signed free agent wide receiver Pharoh Cooper, an All-Pro kick returner, to a one-year contract and safety Juston Burris to a two-year deal.
A The Browns added another veteran safety, agreeing to terms with Andrew Sendejo on a one-year, $2.25 million contract. The 32-year-old Sendejo played for Minnesota and Philadelphia last season.