Insider suggests some Buccaneers players 'relieved' Tom Brady is gone

There continue to be hints that quarterback Tom Brady wasn't only a positive for the 2022 edition of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. 

According to the JoeBucsFan website, NFL insider Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk explained during an appearance on sports radio station WDAE that he has reason to believe some Buccaneers players and coaches are breathing a little bit easier now that Brady is seemingly retired "for good" this spring. 

"What a mess of distractions last year with everything that was going on with Brady," Florio said. "And to be free from that, to be beyond that, I think there’s going to be a lot of [Bucs] who are relieved, and rejuvenated and recharged this year." 

Veteran Buccaneers defensive end William Gholston raised some eyebrows when he said during the winter he felt the team didn't have the right "type of mindset and mentality" throughout this past campaign. 

More recently, Buccaneers co-owner Joel Glazer admitted that Todd Bowles dealt with "a lot of unique circumstances" during Bowles' first season as Tampa Bay head coach. 

Following the playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams in January 2022, Brady temporarily retired but ultimately returned to the Buccaneers ahead of free agency. The seven-time Super Bowl champion then took an 11-day break away from the club during the preseason in August before stories emerged detailing supposed behind-the-scenes problems he and then-wife Gisele Bündchen were going through before the start of the season. 

Brady and Bündchen announced their divorce after 13 years of marriage on Oct. 28. It's since been widely reported how the split impacted Brady physically and emotionally throughout what is now believed to be the final season of his Hall-of-Fame career. 

"They’re not going to come out and say it, but I think they’re going to feel it, and I think that’s good for the Buccaneers," Florio added about the vibe inside the team's locker room. 

With Brady no longer part of the equation, the Buccaneers are hoping either free-agency acquisition Baker Mayfield or 2021 second-round draft pick Kyle Trask will serve as at least a solid option at the sport's most important position later this year. If nothing else, the Buccaneers likely won't make as much off-the-field national news this summer as they did throughout the second half of 2022.