Getty Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles revealed if Tom Brady will play on Saturday, August 20, against the Colts.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles will go with the dress rehearsal plan for the final preseason game after all.
That will include Bucs quarterback Tom Brady taking center stage, too, against the Indianapolis Colts on Saturday, August 27. Brady will see his first preseason action since his 11-day absence from the team, which led to a firestorm of speculation.
“Any player who is healthy will play,” Bowles told reporters on Thursday, August 25. “We got together as a staff, and as a team we understand. We want to see certain things so we’re putting everybody out there.”
Previously, Bowles downplayed the idea of dress rehearsal for the starters against the Colts. The Bucs hardly played starters in the previous two preseason games against the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans.
Brady returned from his 11-day absence on Monday, August 22, and he “looked sharp” in practice according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.
Bowles on Brady: ‘He’s Fine With Everything’
Bowles downplayed Brady missing the two weeks and said he technically missed just three practices.
“He missed 11 days, but he wasn’t playing in the first two [games],” Bowles told reporters. “If you count his days off, plus the days off naturally, he would only practice about three times. He’s fine with everything. We know his conditioning is fine.”
“If it wasn’t a situation that we [had] talked about, if it wasn’t important, I wouldn’t have done it,” Bowles noted regarding Brady’s absence. “Obviously, I have that kind of relationship … they all have private things they come to us with. His just came to light more than the others.”
New Faces on Offense for Brady
Brady will get his first look at playing with the Bucs’ new-look offensive line. Rookie left guard Luke Goedeke will start in place of the injured Aaron Stinnie. Center Robert Hainsey and right guard Shaq Mason will also get their first starts with Brady per the Bucs depth chart. Another less familiar start could also step in for injured right tackle Tristan Wirfs if he isn’t healthy by Saturday.
That’s 3-4 different starting offensive linemen from the past two seasons with Brady under center. The Bucs only retained left tackle Donovan Smith and Wirfs after Alex Cappa‘s departure in free agency, Ali Marpet‘s retirement, and Ryan Jensen‘s injury.
Tom Brady must have jokes. He has @MikeEvans13_ LOL-ing #GoBucs
Brady will also throw to new wide receiver Julio Jones in game action for the first time. Russell Gage, who had a leg injury earlier in training camp, sat out Thursday’s practice. Chris Godwin remains questionable to Saturday, per the depth chart, and he took a veteran’s day off from practice per Greg Auman of The Athletic.
Among new targets, Brady could also throw to new tight end Kyle Rudolph and rookie running back Rachaad White. Fellow running back Giovani Bernard, who was used as a third-down back last year, remains sidelined due to injury.”
“It’s important for continuity,” Bowles said about playing starters on Saturday. “We have some new guys on the O-Line, we have some new guys at receiver, so other than having them practice together, we need to see them in the game in certain situations and just the flow of it. No matter how long it is, we just need to see it.”
The Bucs have one less target for Brady as of Thursday since the team waived wide receiver Cyril Grayson. The fourth-year veteran from LSU caught a long touchdown and a game winner last year from Brady.