Tom Brady dealing with personal matter, stepping away from Buccaneers
Football fans won’t be seeing Tom Brady in any early preseason action. The star quarterback is taking some time off to deal with a personal matter and is away from his Tampa Bay Buccaneers team, according to head coach Todd Bowles. No reason for the absence beyond identifying it as a personal matter was given. Last season, Brady threw for 43 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, while tallying 5316 yards, losing to the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round. He won his NFL-record seventh Super Bowl with the Bucs in 2021 after a 20-year run with the New England Patriots.
mlive.comEagles get Jeffery, Sanders back for game against Giants
The NFC East-leading Philadelphia Eagles have gotten healthier on offense in time for another division game. Wide receiver Alshon Jeffery is back in Philadelphia’s lineup against the New York Giants, his first action since foot surgery last year. Running back Miles Sanders, the Eagles' leading rusher, is also back after missing three games with a knee injury. Okung will miss his fifth game this season because of injury, so Dennis Daley starts, protecting Teddy Bridgewater’s blindside. The Buccaneers are playing without left guard Ali Marpet, who will miss his second consecutive game with a concussion.
NFL facing unending series of questions, uncertain answers
Perhaps the biggest headlines Brady drew recently came when he defied players' union recommendations to cease informal practices with teammates as a coronavirus precaution. (Chris Urso/Tampa Bay Times via AP, File)In seven weeks, the NFL expects to kick off its 101st season with the Super Bowl champion Chiefs hosting Houston. Still set on conducting a somewhat normal training camp, though without any preseason games, and then opening the regular season on time, the NFL pushes onward. We could have a ton of social distance, more than we have with our football team, Chiefs coach Andy Reid says. Perhaps the biggest headlines Brady drew recently came when he defied players' union recommendations to cease informal practices with teammates as a coronavirus precaution.
Brady continues group workouts despite NFLPA recommendation
With NFL training facilities still closed to players because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brady has been leading small voluntary workouts near downtown Tampa for much of the past month. The latest session came just three days after the Bucs confirmed an unspecified number of individuals tested positive for COVID-19 at the team's training center. The same day, NFL Players Association medial director Dr. Thom Mayer, recommended all NFL players refrain from working out in group settings until training camp begins next month. It is our consensus medical opinion that in light of the increase in COVID-19 cases in certain states that no players should be engaged in practicing together in private workouts," Mayer said. The Bucs did not release the number or names of people who tested positive at the teams headquarters.