National Football League

Where do Tom Brady and the Bucs stand without Antonio Brown?

Updated Jan. 17, 2023 10:52 a.m. ET

What looked like an unstoppable wide receiving corps for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming into the season now looks nearly decimated as the playoffs approach.

The Buccaneers entered the 2021 season with expectations to repeat as Super Bowl champions in large part due to the trio of Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown.

Now, with the playoffs two weeks out, there is a possibility that none of those players will be options for a postseason run.

Godwin is out for the season with a torn ACL, and Evans is battling a hamstring injury.

And then there is Brown. He has yet to be officially cut from the team following his unceremonious departure during the Buccaneers' Week 17 win over the New York Jets, but coach Bruce Arians made it clear that Brown is finished in Tampa Bay.

Just how much trouble are the Bucs in heading into the playoffs?

Kevin Wildes believes that as long as Tom Brady is under center, the Bucs have a chance, which he explained on "First Things First."

"Tom Brady will figure out a way," Wildes said. "In his career, 704 touchdown passes to 91 guys. He'll throw it to wide receivers, he'll throw it to tight ends, he'll throw it to offensive linemen."

Although Brady has managed to make ends meet with just about anybody who has taken the field with him, he will still have his ultimate security blanket in tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Over the course of their two seasons together in Tampa Bay, the duo have connected on 14 touchdown passes. Only Evans (26) has caught more touchdowns from Brady the past two seasons.

But even with an all-time great in Gronk, LaVar Arrington believes that hard times are on the horizon for Brady and the Buccaneers, especially with the absence of Leonard Fournette in the backfield.

Fournette is currently on the injured reserve list due to a hamstring injury, and it's unclear when the Buccaneers' leading rusher (812 yards) will return to action.

"I think they are going to struggle, I really do," Arrington said. "You don't have a formidable running game now. Your passing attack will struggle."

Brady's track record indicates that he is able to turn the impossible into the possible, but with a dearth of skill position players available at the most crucial point of the season, just how impossible is his new mission?

The next few weeks should answer that question.