Every player who scored a point for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in their Super Bowl LV win over Kansas City was, famously, new to the team in 2020. Now every one of those players will also be back with the Buccaneers in their Tom Brady-led offense in 2021.
Wide receiver Antonio Brown officially signed a new deal with the Buccaneers on Tuesday, becoming the 15th unrestricted free agent or potential unrestricted free agent to return for the team's title defense. That includes the four players who scored in the Super Bowl: Brown, tight end Rob Gronkowski, running back Leonard Fournette and kicker Ryan Succop.
Brown is also the second wide receiver to re-sign with the Buccaneers, joining Chris Godwin, who received the franchise tag on March 9 and then signed the one-year tender offer nine days later. After signing with the Buccaneers last October, Brown played extensively in three-receiver sets with Godwin and Mike Evans. Brown tied for third on the team with Gronkowski with 45 receptions, recording 483 yards and four touchdowns in eight regular-season games.
Though he missed the NFC Championship Game due to a knee injury, Brown added eight catches for 81 yards and two touchdowns in the postseason. His one-yard scoring grab just before halftime in Super Bowl LV gave the Buccaneers a 21-6 lead in an eventual 31-9 victory.
Originally a sixth-round pick out of Central Michigan in 2010, Brown played nine seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and one game in 2019 with the New England Patriots before joining the Buccaneers midway through last season. He has played in 139 regular-season games with 107 starts, racking up 886 receptions for 11,746 and 79 touchdowns. He is a seven-time Pro Bowler and has been named first-team Associated Press All-Pro four teams. From 2013-2018 Brown averaged 114.3 catches, 1,524 receiving yards and 11.2 touchdowns per season.
