Tom Brady will be without at least one of his best wide receivers when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers face the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, and the star quarterback is not happy about it.
Mike Evans has been suspended one game for his role in a fight that broke out between the Bucs and New Orleans Saints in Week 2. Evans got involved in the scrum when he saw that Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore and Brady were jawing at one another. The receiver defended his quarterback by sprinting over and leveling Lattimore (video here).
Evans was the only player who was suspended. Brady was asked about that during the latest episode of his “Let’s Go” podcast, and he ripped the NFL.
“It’s an unfortunate circumstance. I don’t think it deserved any type of suspension. I think that’s ridiculous,” Brady said, as transcribed by Ryan Gaydos of FOX News. “You know hopefully we can move past it, get to a better place. You know in the end, I appreciate Mike having my back. I know he’ll learn from it. And he knows that we all have his back.”
Brady added that it “means everything in the world to me as a teammate and a friend” that Evans came to his aid.
The NFL treated Evans as a repeat offender, which is likely why he was suspended. He was previously suspended in 2017 for throwing a cheap shot at Lattimore. Sunday marked the third time that the two players have gotten into a physical altercation.
One wild conspiracy theory has surfaced about Evans’ suspension, but we doubt Brady subscribes to that. The real issue for the 45-year-old is that Evans will not be on the field against the Packers a week after Chris Godwin and Julio Jones both sat out with injuries. The Bucs could be very shorthanded on Sunday.
H/T Outkick
