Brady, Bucs work out despite warning
Tom Brady continues to prepare for his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, working out with teammates at a private school despite a union recommendation that players not conduct any more group practices before training camp.
The six-time Super Bowl champion was joined on the field Tuesday by a group of teammates that included tight end Rob Gronkowski, quarterbacks Blaine Gabbert and Ryan Griffin, center Ryan Jensen, cornerback Jamel Dean and safety Mike Edwards.
With NFL training facilities still closed to players because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brady has been leading small voluntary workouts near downtown Tampa for much of the past month.
The latest session came just three days after the Bucs confirmed an unspecified number of “individuals” tested positive for COVID-19 at the team’s training center.
The same day, NFL Players Association medial director Dr. Thom Mayer, recommended all NFL players refrain from working out in group settings until training camp begins next month.
Lions’ owner stepping down: Martha Firestone Ford is stepping down as principal owner of the Detroit Lions.
The Lions announced Tuesday that Ford’s daughter, Sheila Ford Hamp, is taking over as the team’s principal owner and chairman.
“It has been a great honor for our family to be associated with the Lions and with the National Football League,” the 94-year-old Ford said in a statement. “I am gratified that this family tradition, which my husband and I began almost six decades ago, will continue under Sheila’s guiding hand. It is clear to me that Sheila will provide superb leadership and is fully committed to competitive excellence and community involvement.”
Ford had been in charge of the Lions since 2014, when her husband, William Clay Ford, died.
Hamp, 68, has been one of the team’s vice chairmen during her mother’s ownership.
Ford, a granddaughter of tire magnate Harvey Firestone, seldom spoke to reporters or commented publicly on the direction of the franchise, but her influence was felt. In 2015, the team fired its president and general manager in a midseason shakeup, and when she announced the changes, Ford told fans that the franchise intended to “identify and hire the very best leadership in order to produce a consistently, winning football team.”
The Lions eventually hired Bob Quinn as their new general manager, and they made the playoffs in 2016. However, they haven’t been back since. Detroit replaced coach Jim Caldwell with Matt Patricia, who has gone 9-22-1 in his first two seasons.
Steelers will support players that opt to kneel: Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin wants his players to feel comfortable speaking out about social justice in any way they see fit, provided it’s done “thoughtfully and with class.” Kneeling included.
Tomlin said Tuesday the club has engaged in “intimate discussions” with players about how to use their public platform to help effect social change amid the fallout from the death of George Floyd.
“Our position is simple,” Tomlin said. “We are going to support our players and their willingness to partake in this, whether it is statements or actions. Statements are good, but impact is better. Particularly long-term impact.”