The Bucs locked up the NFC South on Sunday afternoon, beating the Panthers 30-24 in a dramatic New Year’s Day contest at Raymond James Stadium. And because Tampa Bay is a division winner at 8-8, it sits as the NFC’s No. 4 seed and can’t move up or down in the playoff picture. That means, win or lose next week in Atlanta, the Bucs will host the No. 5 seed in two weeks on Wild Card Weekend.

With that in mind, might the Bucs decide to rest any of their starters next weekend when they face the Falcons?

“We’ll see how the injury situation looks and we’ll get together as a staff and talk this week,” head coach Todd Bowles said after Sunday’s win. “We’ve talked about a few things, but we’ll talk about it more and see where we are as far as people per position.”

Tampa Bay has had its share of injury issues this season, mostly in the secondary but also in the trenches. Jamel Dean and Antoine Winfield Jr. played through injuries on Sunday, while Donovan Smith returned from a foot injury and Tristan Wirfs continued to battle his ankle issue. The Bucs have a chance to finish the season on a high note with three straight wins, but making sure their stars are ready to go for the playoffs is of greater importance.

Bucs QB Tom Brady – Photo by: USA Today

Quarterback Tom Brady is obviously someone who the team might like to rest in Week 18. He was asked after Sunday’s game whether or not it would bother him to watch next week’s game from the sideline.

“It’s always up to Coach, but yeah, that would bother me,” Brady said. “I haven’t missed a game other than my ACL and then 2016, I missed the first four games. But other than that, I played them all.”

Of course, the four games he missed to open the 2016 season were due to his controversial “Deflategate” suspension. Brady later quipped that he was well-mannered when mentioning those four games.

“I was very polite there, just so you know,” he said. “It takes a lot for me to be polite.”

How Bucs Handle Week 18 Will Be Interesting To Monitor

What the Bucs do decide to do regarding their starters in Week 18 will be something to follow this week as a whole. But what they do at the quarterback position will be especially intriguing. Brady always wants to be out there, plus the team needs to win if the legendary quarterback wants to keep up his streak of never having a losing season. So, telling him he has to sit out entirely might not be in the cards.

Perhaps Bowles decides to do what his predecessor, Bruce Arians, did in 2020 when he gave Brady the first half of the team’s Week 16 game against the Lions before relieving him with Blaine Gabbert. Of course, that was circumstantial, as the Bucs opened up a 34-0 halftime lead in Detroit. Even still, maybe letting Brady get some reps early in the game will satisfy him enough and he can then rest up for the following week’s playoff game.

Bucs QB Kyle Trask – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

And, of course, who the Bucs decide to go with under center if Brady doesn’t play the entire game against the Falcons will also be a compelling subplot throughout the week. Will Gabbert, the team’s No. 2, simply step in for Brady? Or will the team’s decision-makers want to see 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask get some game action?

It certainly wouldn’t hurt to see what the former Florida Gator has, as he has yet to make his NFL debut. He’s typically a healthy inactive on game days, but maybe Week 18 will give the team a chance to have him suit up and see his first bit of NFL regular season action.

Although, if there’s any inclination that Brady could be eyeing a return for the 2023 season, maybe the Bucs hold off on thrusting Trask into action. There are layers to this situation that will keep some level of interest in a Bucs-Falcons matchup that otherwise has little stakes.