Report: 'Preseason anguish' impacted Buccaneers' Tom Brady throughout season
A new report has detailed how Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was impacted by off-the-field issues throughout what became a lackluster 2022 season.
As shared by Jaclyn Hendricks of the New York Post and the Joe Bucs Fan website, ESPN's Jeff Darlington said in a video tweeted out on Thursday that Brady "felt at times his preseason anguish ended his chances at success before the regular season even started."
Brady surprisingly took an 11-day break away from the Buccaneers during the preseason in August for "personal reasons" now thought to be related to his divorce from Gisele Bündchen after 13 years of marriage that they announced on Oct. 28.
"When Brady sat quietly at his locker after an Oct. 27 loss to the (Baltimore Ravens), marking his first three-game losing streak in two decades, the truth of his pain would be revealed the following morning," Darlington explained.
Darlington added that the signal-caller who celebrated his 45th birthday on Aug. 3 experienced "15 pounds of weight loss" and, thus, may have never been in top physical condition up through the 31-14 playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Jan. 16.
NFL reporter Jason Cole of Outkick said in December that Brady "lost 27 pounds at one point prior to the season" as rumors about his marriage hovered over his return from a temporary retirement.
"Friends say that Brady was so down about the loss of his marriage that he literally had trouble getting out of bed in the morning," Cole wrote at that time.
Some have assumed and publicly said that Brady won't take another meaningful snap with the Buccaneers if he plays for any team in 2023. Tampa Bay reportedly believes he hasn't ruled out running it back with the franchise he guided to a Super Bowl LV victory, and Darlington directly remarked that "there have been times this season, according to sources, when (Brady) has been inclined to return to the Bucs to 'be part of the solution.'"
Darlington also said at least two unnamed teams are interested in Brady if he elects to leave the Buccaneers and hit free agency when the new league year opens in March. Nothing in Darlington's piece hinted Brady is closer to making a final decision about his playing future than he was this past Monday.
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