"It shocked me that he was able to leave New England" - Bruce Arians had sights set on Drew Brees, Philip Rivers before landing Tom Brady at Buccaneers

When the news broke that Tom Brady wouldn't be returning to the New England Patriots following the 2019 season, it was a shock to everyone. Brady had many options in free agency but elected to take his talents to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

It was one of the most shocking moves of the 2020 offseason. Not only were fans and players surprised that Brady left New England, but so were the coaches. Bruce Arians, Brady's former head coach in Tampa Bay, was among them.

Arians recently appeared on CBS Mornings and discussed the situation. He said that the team was initially looking at Drew Brees and Philip Rivers before signing Brady. Here's what he said:

“It shocked me that he was able to leave New England. Then, when you look at Drew Brees, Philip Rivers and Tom Brady all becoming free agents, you are like, ‘No way.’"

He continued:

“So you have to do your due diligence. We did our homework. The guy can still play, alright? And lo and behold, we are on the phone."

He concluded by saying:

“So you have to do your due diligence. You have to do your homework. The guy can still really play! … We hit it off. We got lucky.”

It turns out that even three years later, Brady can still play. In his first season with the Buccaneers, he led them to their second Super-Bowl victory in franchise history. Tampa Bay defeated the Kansas City Chiefs in February 2021.

This past season, Brady was second in MVP voting behind Aaron Rodgers. He threw for a career-high 5,316 passing yards and an incredible 43 touchdowns.

Tom Brady joining the Tampa Bay Buccaneers felt similar to Peyton Manning joining the Denver Broncos

Washington Football Team v Denver Broncos

While Tom Brady joining the Buccaneers was a big surprise, it reminded some of when Peyton Manning left the Indianapolis Colts. He joined the Denver Broncos in 2012. Nobody at one point would have thought that Manning would play for another team other than the Colts. But Indianapolis forced him out.

He spent the first 14 years of his career with the Colts, but due to his increasing age and a horrific neck injury, Indianapolis moved on from him. They released Manning in March 2012 and drafted Andrew Luck.

Manning took the Broncos to two Super Bowls and retired after winning the big game in February 2016. Going out on such a high may very well be what Tom Brady is hoping to do in the upcoming campaign.

With the season kicking off in under two weeks, it's nearly time to see if he can pull it off.

If you use any of the above quotes, please credit CBS Mornings and H/T Sportskeeda