Can Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski lead Tampa to a Super Bowl? Why Stephen A. Smith thinks so
"I think they can get it done."
Will Tampa Bay become the first team to win a Super Bowl at its home stadium?
ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, backed by odds from Caesars Sportsbook, thinks it could happen in 2021.
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The day after this year’s Super Bowl, Tampa Bay’s odds to win the title next season stood at 50-1. But after securing Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski this offseason, the chances rose to 5-1, tied for fifth in the NFL.
“I think Tampa Bay could pull it off,” Smith said on ESPN’s “First Take.” “I don’t know if they will, particularly this season, but I think in the next two years, they could find themselves in the Super Bowl.”
His reasoning didn’t apply solely to the success of the pair of former Patriots, who won three Super Bowls together. Rather, Smith thinks Brady and Gronkowski are the pieces that were missing in a Tampa Bay system that was already on the way up.
“If you were just relying on them to be great, that would be something different,” Smith said. “But when you have the requisite weapons that they have available to them, plus the coaching of Bruce Arians, the offensive stewardship of Byron Leftwich, and you talk about adding veteran missing pieces like Brady and Gronk, I think they can get it done.”
In addition to reuniting with Gronk, Brady will have receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, who each tallied over 1,000 yards last season while combining for 17 receiving touchdowns, and scoring tight ends O.J. Howard (12 career touchdowns) and Cameron Brate, who has averaged six touchdowns per season in the last four.
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