Quarterback Tom Brady played for coach Bill Belichick for 20 years with the New England Patriots after he was taken as the 199th overall pick in the 2000 NFL Draft. Their partnership in New England produced six Super Bowl wins in nine appearances. They parted ways after that, with Brady signing a two-year deal worth $50 million with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers while Belichick replaced his long-time quarterback with 2015 NFL Most Valuable Player Cam Newton. Brady’s decision to sign with the Buccaneers paid dividends as he led the team to its first Super Bowl since 2002.

Belichick and the Patriots, for their part, missed the playoffs for the first time since 2008 after finishing with a 7-9 mark.

In past interviews following their separation, the two haven’t talked about each much but Belichick recently spoke about Brady when asked if the quarterback can play until he’s 50 years old. "I'm sure Tom would know better than anybody, so if anybody can do it, it's him," Belichick told WEEI's The Greg Hill Show. Brady, for his part, responded to Belichick’s comments on the "Let's Go" SiriusXM Let’s Go podcast with Jim Gray, saying “I’ve always appreciated the encouraging words of Coach Belichick, and it’s served me pretty well”, per a report by Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

Brady and Belichick will play against each other for the first time when the Buccaneers visit the Patriots in Week 4 at Gillette Stadium. There’s an added bonus for Brady in that game as he could break the all-time passing yard record currently owned by Drew Brees.

Brady’s father says his son is vindicated

While Brady hasn’t spoken much about his relationship with Belichick after leaving the Patriot, his father has some choice words for the head coach, per Chris Bengel of CBS Sports.

During an interview with Tom E. Curran of NBC Sports, Tom Brady Sr. was asked if his son was vindicated for his decision to leave the Patriots. "Damn right," Brady Sr. replied, adding Belichick wanted his son out the door. Brady Sr. said his son had a pretty good year in his first season with the Buccaneers after he threw for 40 touchdowns in the regular season and 10 more during Tampa Bay’s playoff run.

Despite this, the older Brady said his son is extraordinarily appreciative of everything that happened during his New England career.

Brown placed on COVID-19 list

Brady could face the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday without one of his trusted targets, wide receiver Antonio Brown, who wasplaced on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Brown needs two negative COVID-19 tests 24 hours apart in order to be eligible to play against the Rams. Brown was the latest Buccaneer to land on the COVID list this week, behind inside linebacker Kevin Minter and practice squad wide receiver Travis Jonsen, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com.