Report: ‘Preseason anguish’ impacted Buccaneers’ Tom Brady throughout season

A new report has detailed how Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady was impacted by off-the-field issues throughout what became a lackluster 2022 season. 

As shared by Jaclyn Hendricks of the New York Post and the Joe Bucs Fan website, ESPN’s Jeff Darlington said in a video tweeted out on Thursday that Brady “felt at times his preseason anguish ended his chances at success before the regular season even started.” 

Brady surprisingly took an 11-day break away from the Buccaneers during the preseason in August for “personal reasons” now thought to be related to his divorce from Gisele Bündchen after 13 years of marriage that they announced on Oct. 28. 

“When Brady sat quietly at his locker after an Oct. 27 loss to the (Baltimore Ravens), marking his first three-game losing streak in two decades, the truth of his pain would be revealed the following morning,” Darlington explained. 

Darlington added that the signal-caller who celebrated his 45th birthday on Aug. 3 experienced “15 pounds of weight loss” and, thus, may have never been in top physical condition up through the 31-14 playoff loss to the Dallas Cowboys on Jan. 16.