Tom Brady appeared sick Thursday afternoon, but Buccaneers fans shouldn't worry about the star quarterback.
Brady's voice sounded noticeably hoarse while speaking with reporters in Tampa. His status for Sunday night's game against the New England Patriots isn't in any doubt, but "Tom Brady sick" nevertheless trended on Twitter.
So, what's the deal? Jenna Laine of ESPN offered an explanation.
"Heads up: Tom Brady isn't sick," she tweeted Thursday. "He's had issues a couple times losing his voice, going back to this summer in camp. The crowd noise was extra loud today so he was shouting over it. He had to do that last week too."
So, is this a non-story? Probably. It doesn't seem as if we're being set up for a Michael Jordan "flu game" scenario, or anything.
But hey, if Brady's voice still is shot Sunday night, he might have difficulty communicating with his teammates amid the roars of the Gillette Stadium crowd. Of course, that assumes the fans in Foxboro, Mass., have anything to cheer about after the first few minutes of Sunday's game.
(By the way: Rob Gronkowski reportedly is trending toward playing against his former team, as well.)
The Patriots and the Bucs will kick off Sunday at 8:20 p.m. ET.
