Fans and media have speculated since Tom Brady joined the Buccaneers last March, who might be the eventual successor, and for good reason. Brady turned 43 this season and while he says he would consider playing past age 45, he knows football is a contact sport and a single play could change those plans.

So who follows Brady?

Bucs general manager Jason Licht, a guest on the Pewter Report Podcast on Thursday evening, said that person could actually be on the roster currently.

“First of all, I love his energy,” Licht said about veteran quarterback Blaine Gabbert. “I’ve really gotten close to Blaine this year just being on the sidelines. He’s a really smart guy but he is one guy, my scouts and I talk about this a lot, he’s just one guy that I love to watch throw every day in practice because he has got a cannon. He’s very accurate with his throws as well and he can just really whistle them in in tight windows. If he had been forced to play, he played in the Detroit game, but if he had been forced to play more I think that he would have really opened a lot of people’s eyes about how talented he is, especially being in the same system for a couple of years.”

So while the 31-year-old Gabbert may not be the natural successor to the Brady, Licht and the Bucs feel as though they are certainly in good hands if the former first-round pick to Jacksonville would be thrown in to take over for Tampa Bay. And when asked, Licht certainly didn’t rule out Gabbert being an option if Brady eventually moved on from the Bucs’ roster.

“I’m not going to rule anything out right now,” Licht said.