On Sunday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady makes his return to Foxborough to play his former squad, the New England Patriots in Week 4 at Gillette Stadium. Brady played 20 seasons with the Patriots under head coach Bill Belichick and won six Super Bowl titles in nine appearances before the quarterback joined the Buccaneers on a two-year deal worth $50 million. Ahead of their meeting, the 44-year-old Brady and Belichick have nothing but praises for each other. Brady claimed that his departure from the Patriots has been handled properly, adding that he has learned a lot from Belichick during his 20-year stint in New England.
Belichick, for his part, lauded Brady several times for the success that he brought to the Patriots during his stay.
Belichick heaps praises on Brady
On Friday, Belichick again praised Brady during his last talk to the media before the Patriots battle the Buccaneers. Per Christian D'Andrea of USA Today, Belichick was asked if he would have the same level of success without Brady as quarterback, to which he replied “of course not.” Belichick added that he as mentioned several times that there’s no quarterback I’d rather have than Tom Brady. “I still feel that way. I was very lucky to have Tom as the quarterback and to coach him,” Belichick stressed. With his former coach watching, Brady has a chance to break the all-time passing yards record on Sunday and to become the fourth quarterback to beat all 32 NFL teams, behind Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Brett Favre.
The showdown between Brady and 23-year-old Patriots quarterback Mac Jones will also make history as the biggest age difference between two starting quarterbacks in a game.
Sherman active for Week 4 vs Patriots
Earlier this week, the Buccaneers signed veteran cornerback Richard Sherman to a one-year deal to boost their injury-depleted secondary.
During his introductory press conference, Sherman declared that he still needs a week to get in playing shape as he missed training camp and preseason. Head coach Bruce Arians added that Sherman would play depending on the injury status of his other cornerbacks. With Jamel Dean out for Sunday’s game due to a knee injury that limited him in practice, the Buccaneers activate Sherman for the Buccaneers’ Week 4 clash against the Patriots, per Josh Alper of NBC Sports.
In addition to Dean, the Buccaneers will play the Patriots without Sean Murphy-Bunting, who has been placed on injured reserve due to a dislocated right elbow. Arians also announced on Sunday that running back Giovani Bernard is out due to a knee injury while tight end Rob Gronkowski (ribs) and outside linebacker Jason Pierre-Paul (shoulder) are considered game-time decisions. Gronkowski and Pierre-Paul both returned to practice on Friday.
