Did The Bucs Find Brady’s Absence A Distraction?

The absence of Tom Brady for almost two weeks from Bucs practice was a hot button topic for some across the league. But was it a big deal to the people that it should matter to most?

According to head coach Todd Bowles, the Bucs kept it business as usual with their starting quarterback out. Even though everyone outside of Tampa was talking about it, this topic didn’t bother them at all.

Bucs QBs Blaine Gabbert and Tom Brady – Photo by: Cliff Welch/PR

“We pretty much keep distractions out of our locker room,” Bowles said. “It wasn’t a big deal to us because everybody knew what was going on.”

Monday was all about the return of Brady, who got plenty of reps at practice. Despite all the time off, he didn’t seem to show any signs of rust on the afternoon.

“He’s very familiar with the offense so him coming back in and us getting back to work was kind of normal,” Bowles said of Brady after his first practice since coming back. “Just getting used to the heat and getting used to the guys, but he ran the offense well. Anytime you have all your guys back, it feels good. Especially after the injury bug has hit lately, we’re happy to have him back.”

“It was pretty much as expected,” tight end Cam Brate said. “I’m sure wherever Tom was he was working out still, getting his reps in. If anyone can get away with the 11 day break during training camp, it’s Tom. He came back kind of firing on all cylinders today. We’re all excited he’s back and ready to move on with that.”

As far as catching up on what he’s missed. Bowles stated that it’s really just the conditioning aspect that he’ll have to get up to speed on.

“Probably just conditioning for the most part. He’s a film junkie, I’m sure he’s watched tape of everything, so him coming back in, picking up where we left off. Just getting used to the mechanics again.”

And if there were any doubts about his commitment to the team, Brady was the same guy that he’s been from the get-go.

“He’s been great,” Bowles said. “He’s been great. Same thing before when he left. He’s been fine.”