The Facts: Earlier this month, after two decades with the Patriots, Brady changed teams for the first time in his storied NFL career. He won't be changing jersey numbers. Brady's colors are now pewter and red, but he'll continue to wear jersey number 12 as he begins his next NFL chapter with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Diehards Line:
That means one of the players to whom Brady will be throwing passes will have a new number in 2020. WR Chris Godwin, who has worn number 12 since joining the Buccaneers in 2017, offered it to Brady, who gratefully accepted. Godwin, who is coming off his first Pro Bowl campaign, will switch to jersey number 14. Godwin spoke with Brady on the phone shortly after the signing became official. Godwin later discussed the possibility of giving up number 12 in a Skype interview with Buccaneers Team Reporter Casey Phillips. "Obviously, if he doesn't want it or isn't making a big deal about it, I'm definitely going to keep it," said Godwin. "But we'll see how that goes. I think just out of respect for what he's done, what he's accomplished, just kind of the career he's built for himself…you've got to kind of lean into that respect, you know?" In the end, that's exactly what Godwin did. He later told Phillips that there was no transaction between him and Brady as part of the switch; he simply leaned into his respect for the future first-ballot Hall-of-Famer. It didn't take long for Tom Brady and Chris Godwin to figure out the jersey number situation in Tampa. Now they can start putting up big numbers together on the football field.