Did Buccaneers Notice Tom Brady's Absence As Much As We Did?
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady gave a lot of people quite the scare when he took 11 days away from the team to reportedly vacation in the Bahamas in the middle of training camp.
While some thoughts around his absence centered around dreadful ideas like he may be considering retirement again, hilarious conspiracies like he was performing on FOX's The Masked Singer, and tragic theories he may have had an ill family member, there was also a group that was just flat-out annoyed about all the conversations being had about it in the first place.
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After all, if any NFL player is owed a mid-training camp vacation, it's Tom Brady.
But it turns out, we weren't the only ones who felt the move was a weird one.
“It was definitely weird," said tight end Cameron Brate when asked about the lack of Brady's presence at practice during his time away. "Tom is such like an omnipresent being, he’s like the unquestioned leader of the team."
Don't get Brate's words twisted as a complaint or even disapproval of the move. Because there were benefits.
"For (Brady) to not be there for 11 days it was kind of a good opportunity for other guys to step up and fill that void," Brate continued. "It was different, Tom is usually kind of cussing guys up and down the field when we’re messing up, but we didn’t really have that...I thought Blaine [Gabbert] did a good job commanding the first-team offense while Tom was out.”
Gabbert's command of practice was something we noticed as well, although admittedly we were taken back a bit by the firm hand of the backup quarterback.
While 'weird' is a common word being used to describe Brady's less than two-week hiatus, the concerns about his eventual return were not shared inside the Bucs locker room.
"No doubt at all," said Tampa Bay linebacker Lavonte David when asked if he was ever concerned his quarterback may not return. "You know, whatever time they said he was going to be out, I knew that whenever it was time to come back, he was going to come back. Tom is a competitor, he’s a team guy and there was no doubt in our minds at all that he would be back in time.”
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And David was right all along. Not only is Brady back, but Tampa Bay's unquestioned leader is bringing a sense of normalcy with him.
Receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin practiced in full on his first day back, and while Brate said, "He came back firing on all cylinders again (Monday)," David also shared that, "He came back ready to pick up where he left off and leading the guys on offense."
Music to the ears of all Buccaneers fans. Even those annoyed the conversations are being had in the first place.
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