On March 20th, 2020, Tom Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Since then, the Bucs have gone 32-18, won two division titles, and won Super Bowl LV. While the New Orleans Saints were a legit threat during this time and probably the biggest thorn in Brady's side, it's still nice to have him gone.

With Brady gone, the NFC South will look very different in 2023. Below we will look at where each team stands and what it means for the Saints.

The Buccaneers

The Bucs are in a very interesting position now that Tom Brady has retired. They had the oldest roster in the NFL last season, and many of those players are coming off injuries or down seasons. I believe the Bucs have two different paths they can go down in this post-Brady era. 

The first path is if management still believes they have the pieces to contend for a Super Bowl. They could go out and sign or trade for a veteran quarterback and plug them right in Brady's old spot.

This could be a big swing like trading for Aaron Rodgers or Derrick Carr or singing a bridge QB like Baker Mayfield or Sam Darnold. In this scenario, the Bucs would be banking on the offensive line getting healthy and finding some way to improve their horrid run game. Doubling down on this roster after such a disappointing year is risky, but it is definitely on the table.

The second path the Bucs could go down is blowing it all up. If they decide it is time for a rebuild, they could either start third-year QB Kyle Trask or draft a rookie QB and start over with them. This would also mean they begin to cut some expensive veterans as they look more toward the future than the present.

Guys like Julio Jones, Donovan Smith, Lenard Fornette, Akiem Hicks, and Levonte David could all be gone when the 2023 season kicks off due to their age and contract situations. This would mean kicking off a likely multi-year rebuild as they look to rebuild their roster from scratch.

The Panthers

The Panthers started last season looking like the worst team in football. Then they fired their coach and traded Christian McCaffery, and somehow got better. They have lots of talent on the roster, especially on the defensive side. Guys like Jaycee Horn, Brian Burns, and Derick Brown have shown flashes of greatness and should be building blocks for this Panther's defense.

The problem is they have been stuck with mediocre QB play for a few years now. With Frank Reich coming in as head coach, many expect he will want to find his own guy at QB.

One logical way they could do this is by drafting one. All four top QBs (Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, Will Levis, and Anthony Richardson) should be in play for them this year. If they want their pick of the litter, they may need to trade up, as it is expected that multiple top picks could be traded to QB-needy teams. However, if they hit on a rookie quarterback, the Panther's rebuild could end sooner than most think. 

The Falcons

The Falcons are stuck in the middle at the moment. They have gone 7-10 for two consecutive seasons, and the Marcus Mariota experiment at quarterback was a complete failure. The Falcons spent the last two drafts picking offensive weapons with top-ten picks. But while Kyle Pitts and Drake London have shown flashes of greatness, neither has put together a consistent stretch of outstanding play so far. 

However, there is a clear path for a significant leap this season. The Falcons currently have the most players under the age of 26, the second most cap space in the NFL, and will be picking in the top ten for the third consecutive year.

Rookie QB Desmond Ridder came in for Mariota and showed flashes that he could be their QB of the future. The Falcons may not be a contender next year, but they are a team to watch out for.  

The Saints

So, what does this mean for the Saints? The Saints had a real chance to win the division last year, but their lack of consistency on offense killed them in too many games. Now that the Sean Payton trade has been completed, there is finally some life in the Saints organization.

The NFC South will be wide open in 2023, and if the Saints figure out the QB position, there is no reason they can't be the ones that come away with it. Their lack of cap space makes it hard to get a game-changing veteran QB, so their best bet may be trading up for a rookie QB. Four rookie QBs are consensus first-round picks, and they may only need to trade up to the middle of the first round to get one of them.

Putting a talented QB with Olave, Kamara, and an excellent defense instantly puts the Saints in contention for the division title. 

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