Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady looked good at practice on Friday, September 23, amid a finger injury from Week 2.
Off the field, Brady appeared not to have as much luck. Brady looked like he injured his finger in a promotional video, which went viral on Friday.
“I trusted you man,” Brady tweeted to chef Nick DiGiovanni
I trusted you man… @NickDiGiovanni
Ironically, the video depicted his index finger getting injured instead of the one he actually hurt in Week 2 at New Orleans as ESPN’s Jenna Laine noted. Brady injured his ring finger on his throwing hand at New Orleans, which looked better on Friday according to Bucs head coach Todd Bowles.
“He’s ready to go. He’s full-practice. He took every throw,” Bowles told reporters on Friday.
Brady downplayed the injury all week and practiced every day, including Wednesday, which had originally been scheduled off for him. Brady has a short-handed offense to work with as the Green Bay Packers (1-1) come to town for the Bucs’ home opener on September 25.
Julio Jones a Game-Time Decision
Bucs star wide receiver Julio Jones playing against the Packers will come down to a game-time decision, Bowles confirmed.
“We want him healthy. If he’s not healthy, he’s not going to play. It’s that simple,” Bowles said.
Jones injured his knee in Week 1 against the Dallas Cowboys and didn’t play at New Orleans. He didn’t practice Wednesday and Thursday this week, but he was at practice on Friday.
Julio Jones (in red hoodie by the trees) stretches before his workout with Bobby Slater.
Jones hauled in the longest reception of the season for the with a 48-yard deep shot from Brady at Dallas. The former Alabama star has three receptions for 69 yards this season.
Tampa Bay has a depleted wide receiver room with Mike Evans suspended one game plus four receivers besides Jones on the injury reports. Chris Godwin didn’t practice all week due to a hamstring injury, Russell Gage remained limited in practice due to hamstring injury, Breshad Perriman also remained limited over a knee injury, and Scotty Miller dealt with a calf injury.
Tight end Cade Otton has also been out due to the death of his mother, Sally. Otton might not return in time for the Packers game.
“It’s possible he’ll be back, but if not we understand and he’ll be back the next day,” Bowles said.
Meanwhile, the Bucs added help at receiver this week by signing Cole Beasley, and he could play in Week 3 according to Bowles. Beasley tallied 82 catches for 693 yards and a touchdown last season.
“He’s quick, catches up to speed [really] fast, he understands the system,” Bowles said. “He’s played and he’s got a lot of reps under him, so if we need him, I think he’ll be ready.”
Bowles: ‘I Don’t Think It Gets Impacted Too Much’
Bowles believes the offense can still run well amid the shortage of key receivers.
“I don’t think it gets impacted too much,” Bowles said. “We’ve got guys that have played in this system. Obviously, there are different skill sets for each guy, but the system is the system and we’re going to run it how we run it.”
The Bucs also have a healthy running back in Leonard Fournette, who can catch passes out of the backfield. Fournette practiced in limited capacity on Wednesday and Thursday due to a hamstring injury, but Bowles said “he’s been fine” on Friday. Bowles also isn’t concerned about Fournette’s workload — 45 carries and six targets in two games.
“Not at this time. We want to get the other running backs some more plays in there, but when ‘Lenny’ gets going you’ve got to feed him while he’s hot,” Bowles said. “That’s kind of how the first two games have been.”
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Bucs’ Tom Brady Pokes Fun at Injury in New Video