TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) – Two more NFL players are trading the northeast winters for the palm trees and sunshine, to join Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Offensive guard Shaq Mason and defensive back Logan Ryan, who were both teammates of Brady’s in New England, are now reunited with their former quarterback.
Mason spent his entire seven-year NFL career with the Patriots (2015-2021), having played five seasons with Brady, while Ryan played his first four seasons with the Patriots (2013-2016) all with Brady. They both also won two Super Bowls with TB12.
Now they’ve got their sights set on another championship, behind the leadership of one ultra-competitive quarterback.
“I remember my rookie year,” Ryan shared, “our receiver, Aaron Dobson, running a curl route. He slipped. I picked the ball off. I put a good move on Brady. He might have fell or not– I don’t know. I scored and he ended up taking his helmet off, smashing it and breaking his helmet in practice– and this was April or May. I got a lot of Twitter followers from an OTA interception. But I just saw how crazy competitive it was to see him take his helmet off and smash it, which we’ve seen on the sideline at times, but in an OTA practice. That’s something I remembered 10 years ago that I talked about 10 years ago, but that’s a true story about how competitive it can get out there.”
“It was a lot of intense practices,” Mason added. “But going back to OTAs, it’s always a lot of chirping between the (defensive backs) and Tom (Brady). They all want to pick off Tom. That’s just the way it goes. Good day or bad day, we knew the level of intensity was going to be high, whether it was training camp or OTAs. That just raises the standard when you have those intense practices, those intense periods.”
And it’s that competitive spirit and tone set by Brady that has both Ryan and Mason excited to play for the Bucs and compete right away for another Super Bowl title.
“The number one thing about coming here was winning a championship,” Ryan said. “That’s what I’m here to do and help with. Being a teammate of Tom, that’s what he’s about– playing football at the highest level, practicing football at the highest level. Obviously, the expectation and standard is championship, each and every year and each and every day. So I was excited to have that opportunity. That’s what I’m playing for at this point in my career, and it makes a lot of sense. This is a great organization. But, I think the championship opportunity, to go compete for that, and to have a talented roster around me (allows) me to come in and be a great teammate, do great things in the community, and win a championship.”
For Ryan, he chose to sign with the Bucs after the Giants released him, but Mason came to Tampa in a trade with New England. Once he got past the surprise of being traded– something that wasn’t even on his radar — he was amped-up for the move to play for the Bucs.
“It’s a shock,” Mason said. “But it’s definitely exciting to land in a spot like this with a winning organization and a high-caliber standard. I’m excited to be here.’
