Tom Brady Fantasy Football News | Shark Bites

Bucs HC Todd Bowles said Sunday that QB Tom Brady is expected to re-join the team "early" this week. We'll wait until Brady is actually back before completing closing the book on this story. But it looks like you can draft Brady as you normally would.

Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles said Thursday he wasn't sure when QB Tom Brady will be returning from his leave, ESPN's Jenna Laine reports. Back when Brady left the team, Bowles said they expected the QB back after the 2nd preseason game. That's Saturday night at Tennessee. Is it time to worry yet about Brady's absence? We're not too concerned about his readiness. But Tampa Bay is missing a lot of reps for a group of pass-catchers with some new faces.

Buccaneers HC Todd Bowles says QB Tom Brady is away from the team for personal reasons and not expected back until after the Aug. 20 preseason game against the Titans, NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reports. We have yet to see further explanation. Given that it's Brady and the expected return would still give him a little more than 2 weeks before the start of the regular season, we're not adjusting our fantasy football projections for him or the Tampa WRs.

Update: GM Jason Licht said Thursday afternoon that Brady's absence was a "pre-planned" arrangement. "He'll come back even more focused. It's the least of our concerns," Licht said.

The Athletic’s Greg Auman believes QB Tom Brady will attempt fewer passes in 2022 than he did in 2021. Brady led the league with 719 attempts — 47 ahead of 2nd-place finisher Justin Herbert — so it’s not a bold prediction. Auman is also taking the under on Brady’s sportsbook yardage prop (4,624.5); the over on his TD prop (35.5). His 22nd season might start a bit rocky, depending on the status WR Chris Godwin (ACL). But across 17 games, Brady still projects as a top-12 fantasy QB.

Bruce Arians announced Wednesday that he's stepping down as Bucs HC and moving into a consulting role in the front office. He finishes his tenure as Bucs HC with a 31-18 record and a Super Bowl. DC Todd Bowles has been promoted to HC with a new 5-year contract. It'll be his 2nd go-around as a HC after struggling to a 24-40 record with the Jets from 2015-2018. OC Byron Leftwich will remain in the same position this season. And, with QB Tom Brady back, we're not worried about Arians' departure impacting the offense.

Tom Brady isn't ready to retire after all. He tweeted Sunday evening: "These past two months I’ve realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it’s not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. They make it all possible. I’m coming back for my 23rd season in Tampa. Unfinished business LFG." Brady's decision removes what had been a huge question about who will QB the Buccaneers. He'll return to an offense that will still have WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. We'll see now about TE Rob Gronkowski's decision -- though we'd bet, at the moment, that he'll also return to the Bucs.

Buccaneers HC Bruce Arians said Tuesday in a couple of ways that we shouldn't expect to see QB Tom Brady play for another team in 2022. When asked about the possibility of Brady changing his mind on retirement and asking to be traded, Arians said, "That ain't happening. That's not Tom Brady." But would the Bucs trade him if Brady did make such a request? "Nope. Bad business," Arians said, adding that it would take "Five No. 1's" to acquire the QB. For now, we're assuming Brady sticks to his retirement and not taking him in early best-ball drafts.

Two days after pushing back against reports of his retirement, Buccaneers QB Tom Brady announced Tuesday morning that he is calling it a career. He leaves with NFL records including most career TD passes (624), most career passing yards (84,520) and most career completions, passing yards and TD passes in the playoffs. He led the NFL in completions, pass attempts, passing yards and passing TDs this past season, racking up his highest single-season yardage total (5,316) in the NFL's 1st 17-game season. Brady's retirement leaves 2021 second-round pick Kyle Trask as the only QB under contract for Tampa Bay, so we'd expect a move or 2 at the position this offseason. Blaine Gabbert served as Brady's backup the past 2 years but is headed for free agency in March. The Bucs are set to pick 27th in Round 1 of the NFL Draft. We wouldn't be surprised to see a retirement announcement from Brady buddy TE Rob Gronkowski in the coming weeks as well. For now, we'd avoid Gronk in 2022 best-ball drafts.

QB Tom Brady is retiring, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter and Jeff Darlington. Brady's camp has denied the report, and the Bucs say they haven't been informed of Brady's decision. But Schefter wouldn't miss on a story like this -- and NFL Network's Ian Rapoport also confirms that Brady plans to retire. It ends the greatest career in NFL history. Brady won 7 Super Bowls and 3 MVPs across 22 seasons, setting records for career wins, passing yards and passing TDs. The 44-year-old continued to play at a high level this past year, throwing for 5,316 yards and 43 TDs. But he's hanging up the cleats due to health and family reasons, per Schefter. Brady's absence leaves the Bucs with only 2021 2nd-rounder Kyle Trask on the roster at QB.

Bucs QB Tom Brady admitted that he's considering retirement on a Monday appearance on the Let's Go podcast. Brady pointed to his family, saying that his wife hates seeing him get hit and his kids deserve what they need from him as a dad. You know that it'll be painfully tough for Brady to walk away from the game, especially considering how well he's still playing. But it seems like there's a real chance that Sunday's loss to the Rams was his final game. Stay tuned.

Bucs HC Bruce Arians said Monday that he'll play his starters in Sunday's finale vs. the Panthers. Tampa has clinched the NFC South but can move from the #3 seed to #2 with a win and a Rams loss to the 49ers. "You play to win," Arians said. "You play to get that second seed, that’s huge. We’re not resting anybody. We’re playing to win.”

Bucs HC Bruce Arians said after Sunday's win over the Jets that WR Antonio Brown's time with the Bucs is over. That's not a surprise after Brown removed his jersey and left the field in the middle of the 3rd quarter. But it's still a massive loss for a Bucs offense that is also without WR Chris Godwin for the rest of the season. That leaves Breshad Perriman, Cyril Grayson and Tyler Johnson as the top WRs behind Mike Evans. Evans and TE Rob Gronkowski should be the focal points of the passing game in Week 18 and the playoffs.

Bucs WR Antonio Brown (ankle) remained sidelined for Wednesday's practice. HC Bruce Arians said afterward that Brown "probably" won't play vs. the Falcons this weekend. It's disappointing news after Arians said last week that he was "hopeful" to get Brown back for this one. Brown should stay stashed on fantasy benches as we continue to monitor his rehab. His absence is good news for Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Rob Gronkowski.

Bucs WR Antonio Brown (ankle) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Saints. HC Bruce Arians suggested earlier this week that Brown isn't a lock to be ready after the Week 9 bye. His absence is good news for WRs Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. Tyler Johnson will operate as the #3 WR but would be a fantasy flier.

Bucs WR Antonio Brown (ankle) remained sidelined for Wednesday's practice. The Athletic's Greg Auman spotted Brown with a crutch. That certainly doesn't sound like a guy in line to play vs. the Saints this weekend -- especially with Tampa getting a Week 9 bye. With Brown out last week, WR Chris Godwin saw 11 targets and WR Mike Evans 10.

Bucs WR Antonio Brown (ankle) is out for Sunday's game vs. the Bears. We still don't have any details on Brown's injury, but the fact that he didn't practice at all this week makes him seem iffy for Week 8. It's worth noting that Tampa Bay has a Week 9 bye. Brown's absence on Sunday should elevate WR Tyler Johnson to the #3 spot on the depth chart. He's still just a DFS tournament flier. WRs Mike Evans and Chris Godwin should soak up extra targets with Brown out.

Bucs QB Tom Brady (thumb) put in a full practice on Wednesday and isn't listed on the final injury report for Thursday night's game vs. the Eagles. It's impossible to know exactly how big an issue that throwing thumb will be, but everything we've read and heard suggests that we shouldn't alter our fantasy outlook for Brady much, if at all.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport confirms that Bucs QB Tom Brady (thumb) "should play" vs. the Eagles on Thursday night. "There's no serious injury at all," Brady said. "It's more of a discomfort." Any injury to a QB's throwing hand is worth monitoring. But at this point, we haven't heard anything to suggest that Brady needs to be benched in fantasy this week.

Bucs QB Tom Brady hurt his right thumb during Sunday's win over the Dolphins. He didn't miss any snaps in that game and is expected to be fine for Thursday night's game vs. the Eagles, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. This is certainly a situation worth monitoring, but it sounds like Brady can be penciled into Week 6 fantasy lineups for now.