Brady spreads non-RB targets

Buccaneers QB Tom Brady attempted 52 passes for the 2nd straight game in Sunday's win over the Falcons. He completed 35 (67.3%) for 351 yards (6.75 yards per attempt) and 1 TD. Brady targeted RB Leonard Fournette most, throwing his way on 21.2% of pass attempts (11 targets) -- including his only TD toss. WR Mike Evans ranked 2nd with 8 targets, catching 4 for 81 yards. TE Cade Otton (6-43) and WR Scotty Miller (4-35) tied with 7 targets. WR Chris Godwin (6-61) and WR Russell Gage (2-20) each drew 6 looks. The Bucs now rank 4th in the league in pass attempts and have run on just 33% of offensive snaps for the season to date.

Multiple Bucs players told NFL Network's Ian Rapoport that they don't expect QB Tom Brady back with the team in 2023. Media members got the same feeling after Brady's end-of-season press conference. If Brady doesn't return to Tampa Bay, it remains unclear if he'd retire or sign elsewhere. Rapoport mentions the Raiders, 49ers and Titans as potential landing spots if Brady returns for a 24th NFL season. Brady threw for another 4,694 yards this past year, but his 6.4 yards per attempt was the 2nd worst mark of his career. His Pro Football Focus passing grade was well down from the previous 2 seasons, although it still ranked 7th among 31 qualifiers league-wide.

Buccaneers QB Tom Brady completed 35 of 66 attempts with 2 TDs and 1 INT in Monday’s Wild Card loss vs. the Cowboys. The Bucs’ backfield failed to establish a presence in the contest, leaving Brady to throw for over 60 attempts in a game for the first time since Super Bowl LI vs. the Falcons, according to Pro Football Reference. The question now is whether the future Hall of Famer will hang up his cleats for good with the Buccaneers’ season officially over. Brady is set to become a free agent this offseason. The 45-year-old will have a lot to think about in the months to come.

Bucs HC Todd Bowles plans to play his starters, including QB Tom Brady, in Sunday's regular-season finale vs. the Falcons, despite the Bucs being locked into the NFC's #4 seed. "We can get better at a lot of things, so right now, we plan on playing [Brady]," Bowles said Monday. "We'll see how the week goes going forward, but we can get better at a lot of things that we need to work on, and we don't need our foot off the gas." Bowles added that he'll consider pulling starters in the 2nd half. We'd be surprised if Brady played more than a half and don't expect RB Leonard Fournette or WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin to play the entire game, either.

Buccaneers QB Tom Brady threw for 432 yards and 3 TDs in Sunday's win over the Panthers, clinching the NFC South title. Brady found WR Mike Evans for all 3 scores, from 30, 57 and 63 yards out. Evans accounted for 48% of Brady's passing yardage, as the QB posted his biggest total since Week 3 of 2021. With the division locked up, we wouldn't be surprised to see Tampa Bay rest some starters in Week 18. But we'll assess situations like that throughout the league in finalizing our Week 18 fantasy football rankings.

Buccaneers QB Tom Brady completed 30 of 44 pass attempts in Sunday's loss vs. the Bengals, adding 312 yards with 3 TD, and 2 INTs. Brady's pair of picks accounted for half of the Bucs' 4 turnovers that set up the Bengals' offense with good field position each time. 2022 has not been kind to the aging superstar, though a Week 16 game against the Cardinals might help get him straight. The Cardinals D ranks as the 6th-best matchup in adjusted fantasy points allowed to QBs, thus making Brady a low-end QB1/streaming option next week.