Could Buccaneers replace Tom Brady with Seahawks' Drew Lock?

There's yet another hint that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers could pursue Seattle Seahawks quarterback and pending unrestricted free agent Drew Lock as a potential replacement for Tom Brady. 

ESPN's Brady Henderson linked Lock with the Buccaneers on Monday in part because Tampa Bay is a "quarterback-needy team" that just so happened to hire Seattle quarterbacks coach Dave Canales to be its next offensive coordinator last week. Interestingly, Henderson offered this take after Seahawks general manager John Schneider mentioned during a radio spot that Canales "has a great relationship with Drew," according to Brent Stecker of Seattle Sports 710AM.

The Seahawks sent Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos last year in a deal that included Lock heading to Seattle. According to Henderson, Schneider said following that transaction that "he was aware of 'a couple' other general managers who had tried to trade for" Lock. It's unknown if Tampa Bay's Jason Licht is one of those other GMs.

Lock was a second-round pick of the 2019 NFL Draft but hasn't thrown a meaningful pass since the 2021 season.

One NFL agent polled by ESPN predicted that Lock could sign "a one-year, $3 million deal worth around $2.5 million guaranteed" this offseason assuming he hits the open market because the Seahawks hold on to 2022 starter Geno Smith.

"He has talent, was an early second-round pick and is only 26," the insider said about Lock. "There are enough QB-needy teams out there to drive his price up." 

Lock has gone 8-13 as a starter in the NFL, completing a dreadful 59.3% of his 710 career pass attempts for 4,740 yards with 25 touchdowns and 20 interceptions. Perhaps Canales believes he can get the best out of Lock, or maybe Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio was right when he wrote that the Buccaneers are preparing for "a soft tank" en route to possibly replacing both Licht and head coach Todd Bowles as soon as next winter. 

As things stand today, the Buccaneers are on track to start 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask at the sport's most important position. Trask has attempted nine regular-season passes as a pro.