News broke Thursday morning that Tom Brady will be away from the team for personal reasons until after the Buccaneers’ second preseason game. I hope all is well. From a pure football perspective, though, if there’s one player who should be just fine missing a few weeks of training camp, it’s the GOAT. I’m pretty damn confident the 45-year-old will be ready to rock come Week 1. That said, Tampa’s defections and injuries on the offensive line have me a bit worried. And Brady’s Linus blanket, Rob Gronkowski, remains retired. (At least for now.) However, I believe this is Brady’s final year and he’s going to make the most of it.
Brady’s receiving corps is loaded. Mike Evans, who’s hit the 1,000-yard mark in each of his eight NFL seasons, leads the way. In two years with TB12 as his quarterback, Evans has logged a whopping 27 touchdown grabs. I still don’t understand how Chris Godwin, who tore his ACL in Week 15 of last season, was ready to roll right when training camp opened, but modern medicine is a beautiful thing. Despite missing the final three games of the regular season, Godwin still led the Bucs in receiving with 1,103 yards. Don’t sleep on the genius of the Russell Gage signing. He suffered a leg injury in practice this week, but NFL Media Insider Ian Rapoport reported that it is considered a minor ailment. And then there’s Julio Jones. Who knows what he has left in the tank, but what a cherry on top of this WR group!
I’d like to touch on two overlooked factors, as well. Leonard Fournette appears to have shed the excess offseason weight and is poised to pound the rock. Don’t forget that he averaged a career-high 4.5 yards per carry last season. Finally, Byron Leftwich is fantastic as a play caller. He’s the guy who deftly manages all these pieces.