On Tuesday’s airing of “The Herd” Fox Sports analyst Colin Cowherd cited a non-football source that claims Tom Brady is going to sign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

“I had someone text me this morning, and this is very interesting, because it’s not a football source,” Cowherd said. “It’s an icon source. It is someone in Tom’s stratosphere that knows Tom, a famous person. And he says ‘Tampa’. That’s what he’s telling me.”

This may be news to the Bucs however, as GM Jason Licht quickly clarified where the team is at shortly after Cowherd’s report dropped.

Bucs’ GM Jason Licht acknowledged there is interest in free-agent QB Tom Brady, the two sides spoke Monday, but there has been no conversation today and there is no deal in place. “We’re waiting to see what Tom decides just like everybody else,” Licht said.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 17, 2020

Cowherd is far from the only media figure to suggest Brady to the Bucs is a strong possibility. NFL Network’s Mike Silver said today that “If I were a betting man, I would strongly bet on the Buccaneers” as the final landing spot for Brady.

Is there fire to come from all this smoke? One thing is clear, if Brady snubs the Bucs, they will be left with very few options to start at quarterback in 2020. Teddy Bridgewater appears to be heading to Carolina, Marcus Mariota to the Raiders, Ryan Tannehill is going back to Tennessee and Philip Rivers is reportedly close to a deal with Indianapolis.

Who knows how Jameis Winston will feel about a return to Tampa after being, at best, Plan B for Licht and Bruce Arians. In the meantime, Cam Newton could be a trade candidate in Carolina, but with the current travel situation across the country, it would be tough to confirm his medical situation.

As Licht said, Brady Watch is on in the Bucs front office just as much as it is for those of us in the media. The former Patriots’ legend holds all the cards, now we must wait to see if Cowherd and Silver are right about him choosing Tampa in the end.