Bruce Arians Reveals Whether or Not Tom Brady Will Play in Buccaneers’ Preseason Opener

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter the 2021 NFL season as the defending Super Bowl champions. Led by quarterback extraordinaire Tom Brady, the franchise hopes to get off to a flying start in their quest to run it back. 

But before the Bucs kick off their campaign against the Dallas Cowboys on September 9, they’ll have to navigate their way through preseason games. Most teams choose not to start their big-name players for such games to avoid the risk of running into injuries. 

But then again, getting in some preseason action helps shake off the rust accumulated over the course of the offseason. So what does Buccaneers Head Coach Bruce Arians have in mind for Tom Brady?

Bruce Arians hints at Tom Brady starting

Tom Brady enters the 2021 season aged 44. Apart from his age being an obvious concern, the other dilemma regarding starting Brady for preseason games is the fact that he is coming off surgery to repair a torn MCL. 

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Brady has earlier expressed his desire to get in some reps with the side before the season kicks off. And it looks like Bruce Arians is willing to oblige. 

“Everybody will play,” Arians said while addressing the media. “We’ll just wait to see how it goes. It’s normally a drive or two. It won’t be many.”

The Buccaneers head coach further talked about how he plans to navigate his side through the course of the preseason games.

“Don’t know how much, but everybody will play the first game,” Arians said. “The Titans week (Week 2), we’re going against them for two practices. Then we’ll determine how that is as far as who plays in that one. The last one we’ll play a bunch.”

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Brady and Arians were in attendance at Canton, Ohio on Sunday to watch the induction of Peyton Manning into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. But with the season now fast approaching, their focus will quickly shift towards making the most of the preseason games ahead.