The relationship between Tom Brady and Bill Belichick appears to be rather frosty and certainly tension-filled these days. And Brady's absence from Patriots OTAs is drawing some attention.
Bear in mind before you dive too deep into this: it's OTAs and they are voluntary and someone missing them is not a huge deal. Until it is.
Jeff Howe of The Athletic Boston first reported that Brady would be absent, and as Albert Breer of TheMMQB.com notes, it could be "significant" that Brady is not at these Patriots practices.
Brady missing the start of OTAs is significant. Even back when he was living in LA, he'd be here for this part of the program, which is basically when football practices begin. Rare that a starting QB anywhere misses this piece of it.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) May 21, 2018
It is perfectly fine to get worked up about this. It is also totally reasonable and perfectly acceptable to say "This isn't a big deal."
Annual rite of passage for NFL media coverage to note players missing (voluntary) OTAs. Same reaction as when with a team...#yawn
— Andrew Brandt (@AndrewBrandt) May 21, 2018
Brady just won the MVP award at the age of 40 and he should perform just fine again in 2018. With a weak division and no one really getting that much better in the short term -- Jared Dubin and I covered that on the latest edition of the Pick Six Podcast -- the Patriots should roll to a division title regardless of what their quarterback does this offseason.
However, the fact that he's away is influenced by the various situations he's going through with the team, according to a report from Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.
"Tom Brady will not be present today during OTAs and that is expected to continue through the rest of OTAs. This is uncharted waters for the Patriots and Tom Brady," Rapoport said on Good Morning Football. "Even if he has not been present for the weight lifting and running, he always shows up for OTAs as far as I can tell. So it's going to be Brian Hoyer and a slew of other quarterbacks we've barely heard of."
"The frustration has still lingered, whether contract wise, whether Malcolm Butler's benching during the Super Bowl or the fact that players met with such resistance to use Brady's body guy Alex Guerrero, all of this has led to Brady not being there today. But I am told he is expected to be at mandatory minicamp."
From @gmfb: #Patriots QB Tom Brady won’t be at OTAs, and Rob Gronkowski may not be, either. Both will make cameos in June, though. pic.twitter.com/X7g6TrbKAk
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) May 21, 2018
Look: again, he's Tom Brady. He'll be fine. He's going to play about two more years and he might not play nice with the Patriots during all the offseason stuff over that stretch. Such is life. But he's going to be ready to play football, and he's going to play at a high level.
But there could be a trickle-down effect of Brady not being present at OTAs, at least in the form of him not having ideal communication with all of his weapons. Rob Gronkowski (also not present) won't be an issue. Julian Edelman and Brady have a mind meld going, but Edelman is coming back from a torn ACL. Phillip Dorsett is still learning the system, Malcolm Mitchell is still young and Jordan Matthews is new to the Pats. Same with running backs Jeremy Hill and Sony Michel.
There is a limited amount of practice these guys can get with Brady, a quarterback who is extremely trust-dependent in the offensive scheme, and they are going to miss some of it this offseason if he remains away from OTAs.
It's not a story until it is a story.