NFC Notes: Tom Brady, Buccaneers, Panthers, Saints

Buccaneers

Former Buccaneers QB and current NBC analyst Chris Simms claims the Dolphins’ plan to land both QB Tom Brady and HC Sean Payton was further along than people realize. 

“They were going to trade a second-round pick to Tampa Bay to get Brady. [The Bucs] weren’t going to hold him hostage. Sean Payton and the Saints, that was going to be a first-round pick to get that deal done,” Simms said on the God Bless Football podcast. “It was a very real, tangible thing and the Brian Flores lawsuit definitely threw a wrench in it.”

“Nobody really wanted to believe [PFT’s Mike] Florio or me,” added Simms. “It was way farther down the line than Sean Payton’s ever going to let you know, or the NFL because there were so many rules and bylaws broken. They’re trying to act like it didn’t really happen. The Dolphins broke every rule in the book by pursuing Brady and Payton.”

Simms thinks Brady retired to explore his options, then came back out of retirement when it became clear playing in Tampa Bay would be his best option. 

“Tampa Bay called Brady, from what I know, and was basically like, ‘Hey, we’re going to start flirting with some of these quarterbacks that are out here.’ Deshaun Watson, they were going to get serious about all those conversations,” said Simms. “That’s when Brady was like, ‘Alright, I guess I have to make a decision here. I don’t really have any other options, I’m going to come back to you guys.’ And here we are now.”

• Per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, the Bucs vehemently deny they had any discussions with the Dolphins about Brady and that they engaged with the Texans or Watson. 

Panthers

Panthers OL Austin Corbett is looking forward to the challenge of helping to revamp Carolina’s offensive line this offseason.

“It’s tough, why do you wanna leave something that’s comfortable? It’s familiar. It’s human nature to avoid change, right? I think that’s something just for me, personally, and my wife. We discussed going into this that we wanted somewhere that was gonna challenge us just to grow and step into a new role, and just to be comfortable with change. We loved our time in L.A. We love the staff, we love the players. Everything about it,” Corbertt explained, via Panthers Wire. “And now we have this opportunity to go out, branch off and just continue to develop us, and really have this fresh opportunity to see what we can do outside of that system, right?”  

• ESPN’s Todd McShay reports that both the Giants and Panthers have been connected to Mississippi State T Charles Cross.
• PFN’s Tony Pauline writes that many in the league don’t expect Cross to get past the Panthers at No. 6. 

Saints

• PFN’s Tony Pauline writes the chatter in league circles is that the Saints are strong bets to take a quarterback in the first round with one of their two picks. 
• Pauline adds the consensus around the league is that Pitt’s Kenny Pickett and Liberty’s Malik Willis will go in the first round. He adds either Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder or Ole Miss QB Matt Corral could sneak into the back end of the round if another team trades up. 
• According to Aaron Wilson, Alabama LB Christian Harris has visited with the Bills, Commanders, Eagles, Giants, Jaguars, Saints, and Texans.