Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady made history anew as he was selected to his 15th Pro Bowl in his 22 seasons in the NFL. The latest achievement by 44-year-old Brady broke a tie with Hall of Famers Tony Gonzalez, Bruce Matthews, Merlin Olsen and Peyton Manning for the most all-star selections ever.
Brady’s selection to the Pro Bowl was not surprising since he currently leads the league with in completions with 404, passing yards with 4,348 passing yards and passing touchdowns with 36, with three weeks remaining in the regular season. With the rate he’s going, Brady is expected to surpass the 5,000-yard mark for the second time in his career as he put the Buccaneers on course for another Super Bowl title.
The Buccaneers currently lead the NFC South with a 10-4 record, needing just a win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday to clinch their first division title since 2007.
Brady was one of the five players of the 2021 season who were revealed on billboards in Las Vegas ahead of the official announcement of the rosters on Wednesday. The other four were defensive end Aaron Donald and wide receiver Cooper Kupp of the Los Angeles Rams, Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor and Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce. The NFL also revealed that Taylor topped the fan voting with 265,370, followed by San Francisco 49ers defensive end Nick Bosa with 264,687, Kelce with 262,540, San Francisco 49ers fullback Kyle Juszczyk and Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs with 242,900 each.
MVP race tightens after Bucs loss to Saints
Following the Buccaneers’ 9-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, the race for the Most Valuable Player trophy tightened as Brady’s betting odds were reduced from -170 to +120 via PointsBet. Meanwhile, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers improved his chances from +550 to +160 after leading his team to a close win over the Baltimore Ravens.
The other contenders were Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (+1000) and Taylor (+1400).
Godwin to miss rest of regular season
According to Luke Easterling of USA Today, Buccaneers wide receiver Chris Godwin is expected to miss the rest of the regular season after suffering an MCL sprain in their loss to the Saints. Citing NFL insider Ian Rapoport, Easterling said Godwin might be placed on injured reserve, which will cause him to miss the remaining three regular season games, so he could return to the playoffs.
Godwin sustained the injury on a scary hit in the first half of their loss to the Saints. Aside from Godwin, fellow wideout Mike Evans, running back Leonard Fournette and linebacker Lavonte David also sustained injuries on Sunday, but there were no other details if they will miss games.
