TAMPA, Fla. ― The two most prominent faces of the Bucs franchise were either absent or not practicing Wednesday.
Head coach Todd Bowles took the day off for personal reasons, leaving assistant head coach Harold Goodwin to run practice. The team expects Bowles to return on Thursday.
Quarterback Tom Brady, who injured his shoulder in Sunday’s 41-31 loss to the Chiefs, did not practice Wednesday. Also out were tight end Cameron Brate (concussion), safety Logan Ryan (foot) and defensive tackle Akiem Hicks (foot).
Brady injured his shoulder when he was sacked by L’Jarius Sneed and fumbled in the second quarter against the Chiefs.
“My shoulder is doing OK,” Brady said Monday on his “Let’s Go!” podcast with Jim Gray. “You know, just some bumps and bruises and I kind of took a hit there on it. Got some treatment (Monday). Got a little (Sunday) night. So I’m sure I’ll be fine in the end.
“... So this week will be very similar to a lot of the other ones, just getting on the mend, getting back to practice and trying to improve and be ready for (Sunday’s game against the Falcons).”
Receivers Chris Godwin (knee), Julio Jones (knee), Russell Gage (hamstring) and Breshad Perriman (knee/hamstring) all practiced but were limited. Cornerback Carlton Davis, who left Sunday’s game with a shoulder injury, had full participation.
“It’s seems pretty good. I don’t think I’ve heard anything that would put us in a different direction,” Goodwin said. ”We’ve just got to stay healthy. Right now, injuries have cost us a lot early on offensively. Hopefully, we can keep these guys healthy, keep trending in the right direction.
“Hopefully, those first three weeks will teach us the things we can do and the things we can’t do.”
Goodwin said the Bucs were affected by relocating to south Florida to avoid Hurricane Ian, but there’s no excuses.
“It’s good to be back,” he said. “This morning we talked about ‘Hey, let’s get back to our routine, let’s get back to the way we play and prepare and try to get the W.’”
Barrett not regretting bulletin-board material
Outside linebacker Shaquil Barrett may have inspired the Chiefs’ offensive line last week when he said the Bucs edge rushers would have a “coming-out party.” Kansas City hung 41 points on the scoreboard and ran for 189 yards.
“I wasn’t trying to send any shots at anybody or anything like that,” Barrett said. “They came out and did what they’re supposed to do and get the win. ... The way I laughed a little bit gave it a bad little vibe.”
