Tom Brady will be suiting up for a new team for the first time in his NFL career when the 2020 season begins. Instead of donning a New England Patriots uniform, he will be wearing the pewter and red of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The six-time Super Bowl champion can’t work with his teammates due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so he is finding alternate ways to train. Specifically, he is utilizing the backyard at Derek Jeter’s Tampa home.
Brady posted a video on his Instagram Stories Monday, showing himself wearing shoulder pads, a helmet and a knee brace. He was clutching a football and working on some footwork drills. He hopped over the mini hurdles and then took off running out of frame. Brady showed off his excitement for the season with a simple caption of: “One day closer.”
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That time of year for @TomBrady 🐐 pic.twitter.com/ndlPQOTysK
— B/R Gridiron (@brgridiron) May 4, 2020
As someone that only reached 1,000 rushing yards in his career during the 2018 season, Brady has never been known for his ability to outrun defenders. However, he still has to ensure that his footwork is correct while in the pocket. These drills in Jeter’s backyard helped with that goal and created excitement among Buccaneers fans.
Brady has still been striving to find the best options working out amid the coronavirus pandemic. Once he moved to Tampa, he didn’t have the same facilities available. Brady tried to work out in a park near his new home, but he was kicked out by a city employee.
“I got to tell you this story, too. Now, I always tell people, I’m not one to gossip so you didn’t hear this from me,” Tampa mayor Jane Castor said. “Our parks are closed down, so a lot of our parks staff, they patrol around just to make sure people aren’t in there with contact sports and things. She went over to tell him that it was closed, and it was Tom Brady.”
While he may not have the ability to train at his new team’s facility, Brady does have ample space in the backyard. Now he just needs fellow players to join him for some workouts. He has plenty of chemistry with newly-acquired tight end Rob Gronkowski, but Brady will have to build rapport with Mike Evans and Chris Godwin. The two wide receivers both topped 1,000 yards in 2019 and will the goal of doing so once again with their new quarterback.
