NFC Notes: Tom Brady, Richard Sherman, Buccaneers, Panthers

Tom Brady

Buccaneers QB Tom Brady confirmed that he plans on playing past 2022 and may continue his career for another year or two.

“Beyond that, I don’t know,” Brady said, via Jason Gay of the Wall Street Journal. “Maybe it’s another year after that; maybe it’s two. I’ll have to see where I’m at with my family. That’s probably the overriding factor — what I’m missing out on.”

Brady acknowledged that he still wants to be playing at a high level if he’s going to keep playing beyond 2022. 

“I don’t want to be out there and suck,” Brady said. “You think I want to go out there and look like I’m 44 years old? I want to look like I’m in my prime.”

Brady reiterated that he doesn’t want to feel any regrets when deciding to retire. 

“I don’t think anything will match my football career,” Brady said. “I think it’s too hard to replicate that level of energy and output and adrenaline. That’s kind of why I want to go until the end, because I want to make sure I don’t look back and go, ‘Man, I could still do it.’”

Richard Sherman

• New Buccaneers’ CB Richard Sherman said he’s dropped some weight and feels a lot better conditioned for the regular season: “A lot better, a lot springier, a lot faster, a lot better-conditioned and better able to take the wear and tear of a season. We’ll see how it goes.” (Greg Auman)
• Sherman mentioned that he’s a good fit for the Buccaneers’ system: “I fit that scheme very well. People have misnomers about players and schemes … ‘This guy can’t fit this scheme.’ That’s just a lot of fan talk. I’ll be happy to show them how well I fit in the scheme.” (Greg Auman)
• Sherman said that Tom Brady reached out to him regarding signing with Tampa Bay and that the organization contacted him following Week 1: “We have a very solid relationship. I think we both thought it would be really cool if we had the opportunity to play together at some point in time … He reached out, said he wanted to play with me.”  (Greg Auman)
• Regarding his recent struggles with mental health, Sherman said he’s begun meeting with counselors and getting on the proper medication: “I’ve adapted and changed some things… in terms of the mental wellness side of things, in talking to counselors and getting some help, getting on some medication that I needed. That’s helped tremendously as well…. It took a lot. It took a village.” (Mark Maske)
• Sherman’s one-year deal is worth up to $2.25 million and includes $500,000 guaranteed. He’ll receive a base salary of $1 million, can earn up to $350,000 in per-game roster bonuses, and another $900,000 in playing-time incentives. (Doug Kyed)
• Buccaneers HC Bruce Arians said WR Antonio Brown (COVID-19) will return to practice on Thursday. (Jenna Laine)
• Buccaneers CB Jamel Dean (knee) practiced on Wednesday. (Greg Auman)

Panthers

The same day that the Panthers put first-round CB Jaycee Horn on injured reserve with his broken foot, the team announced it had finalized a trade for another recent top-ten pick, Jaguars 2020 first-round CB C.J. Henderson. Panthers HC Matt Rhule said the trade was less about their new need at cornerback and more about taking advantage of an opportunity to add another young, talented player who still has three years of a rookie deal left. 

“This isn’t about, hey, there’s a problem. This is a really talented player that we held in really high regard, (and) he was available,” Rhule said via the Athletic’s Joe Person. “To me, this isn’t like a right now, this week conversation. This is really the next two years, three years. On defense, as you can see, when you have a bunch of good players, it’s fun to watch. So, this hopefully is just one more guy in that group.”

The Panthers may be 3-0, but Rhule reiterated that this was not a “win-now” move to preserve their competitiveness. 

“Uhh, I don’t know what win-now (means). We try to win every game,” he said. “C.J. Henderson is someone we’ve liked a long time. I think any time you have a chance to get a top-15 draft pick from the year before, it’s very unique.”

• Henderson’s situation in Jacksonville obviously went very sour very quickly for the team to move on from a top-te pick after just one year. But Rhule noted secondary coach Evan Cooper has had a relationship with Henderson for a long time, and they would lean on that plus their own work on him leading into the draft last year: “Obviously, Coop’s known him. So last year we leaned on him a little bit in the draft process, as we got to know C.J. But I think all of us had a chance to really get to know him.”
• Panthers HC Matt Rhule said he’s optimistic that RB Christian McCaffrey (hamstring) will be available after missing three games.  (David Newton)