Ex-Bucs coach Bruce Arians says Tampa Bay’s season was hurt by QB’s off-field distractions

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians is of the opinion that the “real Tom Brady” was figuratively somewhere else during the NFL season.

Arians, who joined the Tampa front office after retiring before last season, spoke to The Rich Eisen Show on Wednesday, theorizing that Brady was “not himself” in 2022 amid his marital problems and eventual divorce. by Gisele Bundchen.

Though Arians didn’t just cite Brady’s struggles as the reason for Tampa’s drop to 8-9 before a humiliating playoff loss at the hands of the Dallas Cowboys.

“The injuries to our leaders were very, very tough,” Arians said. ‘Tom wasn’t himself, you know, with all the stuff that was going on.

‘And I have to give him all the credit in the world for fighting what happened last year for his teammates.

Bruce Arians and Tom Brady won a Super Bowl together during the latter’s first year in Tampa Bay

Brady last left the field in a 31-14 wild-card loss to Dallas on Jan. 16.

“I think the world of him, but he wasn’t the real Tom Brady out there.”

Brady finished his final season of professional football with 25 touchdowns and nine interceptions. It was his lowest touchdown total as a Buccaneer.

On February 1, the seven-time Super Bowl champion announced his second and final retirement from the NFL.

During his emotional 52-second retirement video posted on social media, Brady said: “I’m retiring for good. I know the process was a big deal last time, so when I woke up this morning I thought I’d hit record and let you guys know first. .

It won’t be long. You just get a super emotional retirement essay and I used mine last year so… really thank you all so much for supporting me.

‘My family, my friends, my teammates, my competitors. I could go on forever, there are too many. Thank you guys for allowing me to live my absolute dream. I would not change anything. I love you all.’

He seems to be making the most of his free time, continuing with his Come on! Podcast with Jim Gray, while working at other companies, including Autograph and his clothing line, Brady Brand.

Brady and his ex-wife Gisele Bundchen announced their divorce in October after 13 years of marriage.

He announced that he would retire from the NFL in February 2022, only to turn around 40 days later and do a U-turn on the decision. Many believed that Brady’s re-entry to the NFL became a bone of contention for Bundchen.

A source confirmed to DailyMail.com at the end of September that their physical separation was not affected by Brady’s decision to return to his beloved sport. The Bucs star said the divorce had been a “difficult” and “painful” decision that the couple made after “much consideration.”

Brady and his ex-wife Gisele Bundchen finalized their divorce after 13 years of marriage in October.

Earlier this month, he honored a tweet that if a previous post got at least 40,000 likes, he would “recreate” an ad the brand had shared promoting a set of boxer briefs.

Brady shared the photo in response to an “agreement” he had made with his clothing company.