Earlier this week, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles confirmed an earlier report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that quarterback Tom Brady was planning to take every Wednesday off from practice this season.
Bowles also added that Brady wasn’t the only veteran player getting a designated off day during the week, making it clear that this wasn’t just a GOAT thing.
Well, wouldn’t you know it, but Wednesday came, and Brady was on the practice field at One Buc Place, slinging the ball around and starting his preparations for Sunday’s Week 3 home opener against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers.
Why?
From NFL Now: After all the discussions the last few days, #Bucs QB Tom Brady practiced today. Some thoughts on why… pic.twitter.com/9LHsMXdx96
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 21, 2022
As Rapoport points out, it’s likely that with so many of his top pass-catchers missing this week (Mike Evans suspended, Chris Godwin and Julio Jones injured), Brady deciding not to skip a day of valuable reps with his other targets (including the newly signed Cole Beasley) makes plenty of sense.
Brady and the Bucs offense has struggled through the first two weeks of the season, scoring just one touchdown in each game, and failing to convert their red-zone trips into end-zone trips.
Hopefully, with some added practice time, some of those issues can get smoothed out before Sunday.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbw5aerff6ff182 player_id=none image=https://bucswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[listicle id=71196]