Tom Brady

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are loading up for what could be one of Tom Brady's final seasons with the franchise, and they landed the quarterback a significant target Tuesday by signing Julio Jones to a one-year deal, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Jones, a seven-time Pro Bowler and two-time All-Pro, is now expected to be one of Brady's top targets in 2022 alongside Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. Following the loss of Rob Gronkowski, who announced his retirement this summer, adding Jones is exactly the receiving weapon the Bucs needed.

Jones is now being touted by NFL fans as the missing piece to Brady and Tampa Bay winning another Super Bowl, and the rest of the league should be scared.

Jones has dealt with injuries over the last two seasons, but when fully healthy, he's one of the best receivers in the NFL. During the 2019 season, he caught 99 passes for 1,394 yards and six touchdowns in 15 games.

Brady now has two targets who have recorded at least 1,000 receiving yards in seven seasons—Jones and Evans—in addition to Godwin, who has posted two 1,000-plus receiving seasons, and Russell Gage, who has recorded back-to-back seasons with at least 700 receiving yards.

Beyond Jones, Evans, Godwin and Gage, Brady can also turn to Tyler Johnson, Cyril Grayson Jr., Scotty Miller, Jaelon Darden and Breshad Perriman out wide. He also has Cameron Brate and Kyle Rudolph at tight end and Leonard Fournette and Rachaad White at running back.

Talk about dangerous.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are signing veteran wideout Julio Jones to a one-year deal, per ESPN's Adam Schefter, giving quarterback Tom Brady yet another weapon in the passing game.

Here's a look at the team's updated offensive depth chart with the potential addition of Jones:

QB: Brady, Blaine Gabbert, Kyle Trask

RB: Leonard Fournette, Rachaad White, Ke'Shawn Vaughn, Giovani Bernard

WR1: Mike Evans

WR2: Chris Godwin

SWR: Russell Gage

WR4: Jones, Scotty Miller, Tyler Johnson

TE: Cameron Brate, Kyle Rudolph

LT: Donovan Smith, Fred Johnson

LG: Aaron Stinnie, Luke Goedeke, Sadarius Hutcherson

C: Ryan Jensen, Robert Hainsey

RG: Shaq Mason, Nick Leverett

RT: Tristan Wirfs, Josh Wells

Per Schefter, the Bucs beat out interest from the Green Bay Packers to sign Jones. The question for the Bucs, of course, is what Jones' role will be going forward.

Evans and Godwin are locked into place as the team's top two options at receiver, with Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reporting on Tuesday that Godwin was cleared for training camp after having surgery for a torn ACL in January.

Plus, the team signed Gage this offseason, ostensibly to handle slot-receiver duties.

"I think he is the perfect slot for our system, being at that receiver position," Bucs defensive back Antoine Winfield Jr. told reporters in May. "Playing against him, he's tough in there, so I think we're going to utilize him just fine in that area. He's smart, he has good routes, he is shifty—I like his game a lot."

So while Jones—a seven-time Pro Bowler and two-time first-team All-Pro—is a flashy signing for Tampa, there's a very good chance he's the team's fourth wideout.

Outside of the team's current options at the position, Jones is 33 years old and has missed 14 total games the past two years due to injuries. He didn't make a major mark with the Tennessee Titans last year, catching 31 passes for 434 yards and a score.

Across 10 games, that averaged out to about 3.1 catches for 43.4 yards and 0.1 touchdowns per contest. Not great, especially considering his career averages per game are six catches, 91.9 receiving yards and 0.4 scores.

But Jones doesn't need to be the top option in Tampa. He won't be close to that. As third or fourth receivers go, he's a very nice addition.

When you're an aging wide receiver coming off a disappointing season, aligning with Tom Brady might be just the recipe for a rebound.

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported on Tuesday that Julio Jones agreed to a one-year contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

For a team in win-now mode, adding a wideout with Jones' pedigree is a no-brainer. A title contender can never have too much depth, especially at an offensive skill position.

From a fantasy football perspective, this may not move the needle much. Tom Brady was solidly in QB1 territory already, and Jones joins a crowded receiving corps that added Russell Gage earlier in the offseason.

Entering the 2021 season, it was a lot easier to talk yourself into the idea of Jones returning to form. He joined a contender that already had A.J. Brown, who could help divert some of the defense's attention away from him.

The result was the 33-year-old catching 31 passes for 434 yards and one touchdown. He also battled a hamstring injury, which had dogged him in 2020, and missed seven games.

Antonio Brown set an impressive pace in his limited time on the field for the Bucs in 2021. He had 42 receptions for 545 yards and four touchdowns in seven appearances. His 77.9 yards per game were second on the team behind Chris Godwin's 78.8.

If Jones can replicate that kind of role, then he'll be a major player in standard fantasy leagues.

But there are still too many variables at play to say with any confidence he's going to make an impact.

Gage eclipsed 700-plus yards receiving with the Atlanta Falcons in 2020 and 2021. He's not a prolific pass-catcher but could take targets from Jones.

Counting on the future Hall of Famer to stay healthy is a big if, too, when he hasn't done that in the past two years.

Not to mention, Godwin re-signed, and after suffering a torn ACL, he might be playing himself back into form right around the time the fantasy playoffs roll around.

Rather than Brown, Odell Beckham Jr. might be the better parallel to Jones.

Beckham caught 27 passes for 305 yards and five touchdowns in the second half after signing with the Los Angeles Rams. His presence certainly benefited the Rams, but OBJ clearly wasn't his old self.

Between his nagging hamstring and the depth of Tampa Bay's aerial attack, banking on Jones is a risky bet.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Tom Brady knows there can be a worse fate than having a lower than expected player rating in Madden.

The first batch of player ratings for Madden NFL 23 were revealed Monday, and Cincinnati Bengals star Ja'Marr Chase getting an 87 overall at launch was one of the bigger surprises.

Brady chimed in with a helpful anecdote:

Not that anybody has forgotten, but this is yet another example for how unlikely Brady's ascension was. The sixth-round pick wasn't even listed by name in Madden 2001, and his rating fell by six points in Madden 2002.

And this was a time before EA Sports updated its player ratings based on how the season was unfolding. The Super Bowl-winning quarterback in 2001 was one of the lowest-rated at the position that year.

By comparison, Chase is faring pretty well.