Concern for Tom Brady’s health has been going around for quite some time now. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ QB sustained a right-hand finger injury during their Week 2 game against the New Orleans Saints and bruised his right rotator cuff against the Kansas City Chiefs last week.
Although Brady did announce later that he will play against the Falcons on Sunday, fans seem to have been given a reason to worry.
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While talking on the ‘Salty Dogs’ podcast, Bucs running back Rachaad White described the circumstances of his first-ever NFL touchdown.
“I just remember we was in a huddle, TB had called one play at first, I don’t know if we took a timeout or something, but it was a huddle for a minute and I think maybe somebody got hurt or something…. TB was going to take it in there himself, but… that was the play originally but then he was just like, scratch it, we gon run the ball.”
According to White, Brady was initially going to take the ball to the end zone. Brady then switches to a rushed play, leading to White going airborne to score a touchdown. Is there a point of concern here?
Brady is unwilling to take the ball himself. But it’s not evident enough to suggest Brady was looking after an injury.
Tom Brady’s play switch against the Chiefs attributed to protecting an injured finger
The play change could have been a calculated risk Brady took to confuse his opponents. Maybe he saw something in the Chiefs’ defense and wanted to exploit it. After all, QBs are famous for changing plays after reading their opponents. Just ask Landon Collins about Aaron Rodgers. Or maybe he just wanted to give rookie White a chance to score his first touchdown in the NFL. An eagle-eyed fan doesn’t seem to think so.
According to JoeBucsFan, an anonymous writer, TB12 hasn’t run a lot of sneaks this season, which they speculate is due to Brady’s finger injury from the week 2 game against the Saints. The injury did show its face during next week’s practice and was a concern going into the game against the Green Bay Packers.
Added to that, his rotator cuff injury, from the Chiefs game, is now the focus of attention for fans and analysts. The fact that he missed out on practice again is not a wonderful sign. He said, “It feels great. I’ll be there Sunday.” He may have placated some fans, but his age seems to be a driving force of concern regarding his injuries.
NFL analyst concerned about aging Brady, calls for retirement
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NFL insider Mike Florio is very concerned about Brady’s recent injuries, and the messages they send.
“That is not a devastating hit,” he said on ProFootballTalk, talking about the rotator cuff injury. “We have seen guys take far bigger hits all the time. This is not like, oh, he’s going to be hurt. I mean, he is getting banged up by fairly ordinary hits. That’s my concern.”
“He’s 45. It’s amazing that the guy’s got the courage to go out there with guys half his age and younger and face that — that risk. And it is a little crazy that he can’t just give it up and walk away because he probably should. He probably should have already, and he probably should right now.”
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With the calls for Brady to retire now increasing at an exponential pace, it will be interesting to see how he will respond to his fans’ requests. Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons will surely be an avenue for him to convey that his athletic abilities are still intact. Or will it end up showing that retirement is the need of the hour?
Watch This Story: Tom Brady injury update: What is up with GOAT’s rotator cuff?