Arians doesn't rule out Bucs drafting QB in first round

ampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians (right) looks on as quarterback Tom Brady (left) warms up. Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Bruce Arians doesn't rule out Buccaneers drafting QB in first round

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 3/30/21

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are committed to having seven-time champion quarterback Tom Brady lead them into the defense of their Super Bowl LV crown. The future Hall of Fame signal-caller, who turns 44 years old in August, said before that win over the Kansas City Chiefs that he's open to extending his playing career past his 45th birthday.

Every athlete, even seemingly ageless wonders who have had careers extended via "The TB12 Method," eventually falls to Father Time, and Tampa Bay coach Bruce Arians may be preparing the franchise for life after Brady.

Per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Arians suggested on Tuesday the Buccaneers could use their upcoming first-round draft pick to select Brady's future replacement:

"If the right (quarterback) guy is there that we think is a developmental guy that has the upside that outweighs the five guys we're looking at...sure,'' Bruce Arians says of using the 32nd pick for a QB to learn behind Tom Brady.
— Rick Stroud (@NFLSTROUD) March 30, 2021

Many will remember Bill Belichick often looked for Brady's successor in drafts throughout the 2010s when both were with the New England Patriots, and those experiments ended poorly and may have contributed to Brady's departure from New England following the 2019 season.

For what it's worth, nobody among four CBS Sports analysts, Walter Football or NFL Media's Lance Zierlein predicts in mock drafts the Buccaneers will spend a first-round pick on a quarterback on April 29.

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