Tom Brady has not been shy about taking up a leadership role in Tampa since signing with the Buccaneers. The six-time Super Bowl champion was kicked out of a park for getting a head start on personal workouts. He took new teammates to a local school for unofficial practices. Now, he's wowing the entire team over Zoom, according to NFL Network's Mike Giardi, establishing himself as the Bucs' clear-cut face of the franchise during the club's virtual offseason program.
"I was also told by another player, 'Look, he's not waiting. He is aggressive. He is becoming our leader. It's happening right now even though we are not together on a regular basis as a team in person,'" Giardi said Friday. "This is something I think all the Buccaneers are looking forward to when they finally get together on the field.
"Brady is the Pied Piper for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers," Giardi continued. "This isn't to disparage what Jameis Winston did there, but Brady is drawing all kinds of attention from his teammates for the energy that he is bringing not only in these workouts that he has organized. But also, I was told, he is lighting up the Zoom meetings ... intelligent questions, personality, engaging with teammates. This is exactly what they need."
Giardi's report echoes praise from Bucs coach Bruce Arians, who said earlier this week that Brady's been a "fantastic" leader during the team's abnormal offseason.
"When he talks, they listen," Arians said. "(And) he commands excellence on the field. There's no relaxation on the field when he's out there. I mean, if you're supposed to be at a certain spot on a route, you better be there or he's going to talk to you about it."
To be determined if Brady's Zoom performances translate to when the Bucs do, in fact, hit the field this summer. Either way, one thing is clear: Everyone who now calls the former New England Patriots star a teammate seems to be thrilled that's the case.
