Skip to main content
Advertising

Training Camp

Training Camp Buzz: 'No butterflies' for Tom Brady in first scrimmage with Bucs

The 2020 regular season is just around the corner, and NFL Network has you covered with wall-to-wall training camp coverage each day starting at 10 a.m. ET. Follow along here for some of the best sights, sounds and moments from "Inside Training Camp Live" and around the NFL.

  • Tom Brady threw his first passes as a Buccaneer at Raymond James Stadium on Friday, and to the surprise of no one, Brady was free of the jitters. "No butterflies," Brady said of his first attempts in his new home stadium. The sun, humidity and pumped-in crowd noise couldn't affect the quarterback, perhaps because -- pulls out magnifying glass -- the audio track may have sounded familiar. "I thought it was one of the Colts' old tapes when they were pumping noise into the RCA Dome," Brady said, per The Athletic's Greg Auman. It was a joke, of course, but another example of how Brady's first season outside of New England will be different for more than just a change in uniform. Even amid all of the strange circumstances, Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians was pleased by the 43-year-old quarterback's, saying he thought Brady had "a hell of a day." "I thought Tom was very efficient," Arians said, again via Auman. "Good job of leadership." In a preseason process devoid of actual games, the closest teams can get to replicating a gameday environment is by traveling to their stadiums, pumping in crowd noise, running the scoreboard graphics and creating a mock game. Arians said he wasn't sure if the Bucs would run it back once more before the season begins, but as for Friday's test run, nothing but good signs from TB12, who was "kind of pushing the guys" through camp fatigue during the scrimmage, per NFL Network's James Palmer. "The competition is on," Brady said, per Bucs senior writer Scott Smith. "It doesn't start in two weeks. It has already started."
  • The Buccanneers could be on the verge of locking up a key contributor to their defense. NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reports the team has had recent negotiations on a contract extension for linebacker Lavonte David. David currently on the final year of a five-year, $50.25 million contract he signed in 2015. David has been a mainstay in the Tampa Bay front-seven during his eight seasons with the Bucs, only missing seven games.
  • The Carolina Panthers completely rebuilt their defense this offseason -- using all of their draft picks on that side of the ball. With that much turnover questions about for first-year head coach Matt Rhule and first-year defensive coordinator Phil Snow. One rookie, however, showed out Friday. Cornerback Troy Pride had an impressive day, per team reporter Bill Voth. He had multiple pass breakups and helped force an interception during the morning session, even earning praise from quarterback Teddy Bridgewater. With James Bradberry now with the New York Giants, Pride could be in line for snaps across from Donte Jackson in the Carolina secondary.
  • Receivers in New England haven't exactly taken the next step as a group from 2019 to 2020, according to NFL Network's Mike Giardi. The second-best receiver behind mainstay Julian Edelman is a surprise: Gunner Olszewski, who Giardi reported has made a leap and is "faster, stronger, quicker," but may be more of a target similar to Edelman than he is a complement. Mohamed Sanu, meanwhile, has been "very quiet" while continuing to work. Second-year wideout N'Keal Harry has had a nice couple of days while playing a more physically focused brand of football, per Giardi, but has struggled to get separation, which NFL Network's Michael Irvin agreed is an issue for an offense now quarterbacked by an "outside-in" style of passer in Cam Newton.
  • Entering Year 10, Julio Jones is no stranger to the throes of training camp but it doesn't make it any less special seeing the Falcons all-world wideout haul in throws from Matt Ryan. Watch the multi-time All-Pro and Pro Bowl talent go to work below.
  • There are a number of new names and terms Greg Olsen will have to familiarize himself with now that he's a member of the Seahawks. "Metcalf" will not be included on that lengthy list. During his appearance on Inside Training Camp Live, Olsen -- a first-round pick of the Bears back in 2007 -- discussed what's it been like forming a bond with sensational wideout DK Metcalf 13 years after sharing the field with his father, Terrence. Olsen and the elder Metcalf were teammates in Chicago from 2007-08. "Every time someone brings it up, it just reminds me that I'm not a spring chicken anymore. I've been doing this a long time," Olsen joked. "I got to catch up with DK's dad Terrence just a couple weeks ago. DK and I ran some routes before we started back up and his dad was in town and we got to visit and spend some time. … It's a pretty cool thing. I take some pride in it, knowing that it's not easy to stick around in this league a long time but it's definitely a reminder that sometimes it's hard keeping up with these young guys."

Related Content