Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles: Tom Brady 'picked up where he left off'

The latest edition of "Tom Brady day" certainly didn't disappoint as it pertains to quotes offered by the 44-year-old following his short-lived retirement this past winter. 

Brady attended the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' mandatory minicamp that wrapped up on Thursday and, among other things, suggested he doesn't know if he'll play past the 2022 NFL season, failed to give any real answer about the future of free-agent tight end Rob Gronkowski, denied any supposed rift with former head coach Bruce Arians and danced around questions regarding offseason rumors that linked the G.O.A.T. with the Miami Dolphins. 

Of course, Brady wasn't the only person associated with the team who found himself in front of microphones this week. Buccaneers running back Leonard Fournette told reporters on Tuesday that Brady "hasn’t lost a step" despite his brief football hiatus, and head coach Todd Bowles, who replaced Arians earlier this spring, echoed that take later on Thursday. 

"He picked up where he left off at," Bowles said of Brady during a press conference, per Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk. "He got to see things on the first day, the second day he was sharp as a tack, and today he was sharp. So you can’t say enough good things about him — his work ethic and what he brings to the team." 

Arians was often brutally honest when speaking with or about Brady over the past couple of years. Bowles continued that tradition by adding the seven-time Super Bowl champion can improve upon some things over the summer months. 

"Well, I think if you ask him, the best thing he can do to have a better season than last is to win the Super Bowl," Bowles explained. "I don’t think the stats matter as much to him as winning. If he can win a game throwing 20 times, he’s happy. If he can win a game throwing 50 times, he’s happy. So, the best thing he can do is keep winning and as he’ll tell you, he needs to work at everything constantly because this game catches up to you if you don’t constantly work at things." 

Fournette, star wide receiver Mike Evans and linebacker Devin White have all said in different ways they consider the Buccaneers a "Super Bowl or bust" team with Brady back on the active roster. Bowles seems to share that opinion.