Due to the pandemic, the bye week isn't as exciting as it usually is for NFL players and that's mostly because they're not allowed to travel during their time off. Instead, they have to stick around their team facility so they can undergo daily COVID-19 testing.
For the Buccaneers' bye in Week 13, Tom Brady tried to make the most of being stuck at home by planning a golf outing with head coach Bruce Arians, but it turns out that golf outing never happened because the NFL nixed it. According to ESPN.com, the NFL notified the Buccaneers that it would be in violation of the league's COVID-19 protocols if the two played golf together.
Apparently, the news caught the two off guard, because they had already scheduled a tee time on Dec. 2 that also included Tampa Bay's QB coach Clyde Christensen and former Buccaneers star Ronde Barber as part of their foursome. The NFL has had strict COVID protocols all year and they got even stricter after the Titans' coronavirus outbreak back in early October.
If you're wondering what a player is supposed to do during their bye week, the answer seems to be just sit at home. For example, Rob Gronkowski made a check list this year of things he normally does during the bye week that he had to forgo in 2020. Among the things that Gronk wasn't able to do: Go to the club and fly to a different city for a short vacation.
As for Brady, if there's any bit of good news that Buccaneers fans should take out of his canceled golf trip, it's that he seems to have a good relationship with Arians. After Arians threw his quarterback under the bus following several losses this year, there was some question about whether the two actually like each other, but it seems they do.
According to Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht, the two actually get along very well.
"They really get along great," Licht told ESPN. "There's a deep respect there for each other."
Of course, winning has a funny way of curing everything, which means that relationship might change if the Buccaneers lose to the Vikings on Sunday. If Minnesota pulls off the upset, that could leave Tampa Bay on the outside of the playoff race heading into Week 15.
