A transaction this big is always delicate, and so there were moments of disbelief along the way this week—a week that seemed more like a month—for Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians and GM Jason Licht.
By Wednesday afternoon, of course, they knew. I knew. You knew.
But nerves lingered among the handful of guys who were in the office over a tense few days. They were trying to sign Tom Brady, after all, and landing an icon of that level brought the promise that everything from the team’s ability to convert on third down and in the red zone, to the national perception of the franchise was about to change.