Tom Brady to Tampa, Tua to Miami, and year No. 2 for Gardner Minshew. A lot of new additions and excitement for each of the in-state teams. Football season (hopefully) will start on time with Texans taking on the Chiefs on September 10th. There will be no preseason games to get all of these new additions acclimated in real time, plus, add the fact that there will be little-to-no fans at games this year and you have a unique set of circumstances heading into this year.
With all that being said, here's a burning question for each of the in-state teams:
BUCS- "How quickly can Tom Brady & CO. get on the same page?"
Tom Brady left New England after 20 years. He's learning a new offense with new receivers, running backs, a new offensive line, and new tight ends. Yes, Rob Gronkowski came out of retirement to join Brady but that doesn't change all that he has to learn and while Bruce Arians has said that he's, "way ahead of the curve" in terms of learning the new offense, how will that translate on the field against actual opponents? Going from Julian Edelman, Phillip Dorsett, and Jakobi Meyers to Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Cam Brate, and OJ Howard will be quite the change. Let's not forget the Bucs newest addition of LeSean McCoy, third-round pick, running back Ke'Shawn Vaughn, and fourth-round pick, wide receiver Tyler Johnson. A lot of new faces for the 43-year old QB and a week one matchup at New Orleans. Welcome to Tampa, Tom.
DOLPHINS- "When will Tua take over as starter?"
The most obvious question of these burning questions. Miami hasn't been this excited for a quarterback since the days of Dan Marino. A lot has been made about Tua's injury history at Alabama, including his most recent injury. For now, at least, those are in the back of Dolphins fans' heads as he was cleared to practice and will not go on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list. Ryan Fitzpatrick knows his role with the team and is ready to cheer on Tua whenever he does become the starter. But when will that be? Will he be the week one starter or will Brian Flores ease the No. 5 overall pick into action? How long until the fans put enough pressure on the organization to start him?
JAGUARS- "Do the Jags want Gardner Minshew to take that next step?"
The question itself seems a bit harsh for Gardner Minshew. He quickly filled in last season for Nick Foles and became a fan favorite. The way he dresses, his play on the field, and of course, his mustache. He went 6-6 last year, throwing for over 3,200 yards and 21 touchdowns to just 6 interceptions. But what do the Jags want to do? They traded away their defensive leader in Calais Campbell to Baltimore for a 5th-round pick and one of their top corners in A.J. Bouye to the Broncos for a fourth-round pick. They did add 12 new pieces through the draft including corner C.J. Henderson and edge rusher K'Lavon Chaisson in the first-round and receiver Laviska Shenault with their second-round pick. They have also made some decent free agent signings and are loaded up next year in the draft as well. But the reason to ask the original question is because of Clemson quarterback Trevor Lawrence. As excited as Dolphins are for Tua, you can make the argument that Lawrence would do the same for Jacksonville and he's a better pro prospect without the injury history. Head coach Doug Marrone and GM Dave Caldwell could be done in Jacksonville after this season and new leadership could have the team looking in another direction other than Minshew.
PHOTO CREDIT: GETTY IMAGES