Buccaneers add Tom Brady to injury report amid potential controversy

It had been suggested that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers had allegedly violated NFL rules as it pertains to disclosing injuries among players for at least the second time since the 2020 season when they failed to add star quarterback Tom Brady to their official injury report even though he admitted on Monday he hurt the ring finger on his throwing hand at some point during last Sunday's 20-10 win at the New Orleans Saints. 

The 2-0 Buccaneers have addressed the situation heading into this Sunday's home opener against the 1-1 Green Bay Packers. 

Charean Williams of Pro Football Talk notes that the Buccaneers added Brady to their injury report with a "right finger" setback on Friday afternoon. The 45-year-old had full practices throughout the midweek and carries no injury designation ahead of the weekend. 

"He's ready to go, he's full-practice. He took every throw," Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles told reporters Friday about Brady, per the team's quote sheet. 

Brady talked about the finger during Monday's edition of his "Let's Go!" SiriusXM show and podcast and said he "banged it up pretty good" but also claimed the issue "didn’t affect me at all" against New Orleans. He then practiced Wednesday after Bowles seemed to confirm the seven-time Super Bowl champion would take all Wednesdays off moving forward as scheduled maintenance days. 

The Buccaneers were in headlines last year after it was said that Brady played with a fully torn medial collateral ligament during the 2020 season that required him to have surgery after Super Bowl LV because he never appeared on the club's injury report with a knee problem throughout that campaign. NFL rules demand that teams list all "reportable injuries" on practice reports "even if the player takes all the reps in practice," and clubs have been punished via fines for violating this policy.