Mike Evans is hurt again, and Tom Brady just threw another pick-6

Tom Brady and Mike Evans can’t get on the same page for the Buccaneers. Injuries and turnovers keep getting in the way for the Tampa Bay duo.

Tom Brady’s arrival in Tampa Bay was supposed to allow Mike Evans to take his game to a whole new level. That hasn’t happened quite yet for the Buccaneers. It may take the talented duo a little more time to really get on the same page.

Evans has struggled with injuries to start his 2020 season and Week 4 is no exception. He’s already headed to the locker room for the Buccaneers in their contest against the Chargers. There’s no indication if or when he’ll be able to return to Bruce Arians’ lineup.

Brady still has plenty of weapons to work with even without Evans’ services, but he’s not firing on all cylinders either. The pick-6 he threw against the Chargers on Sunday was a perfect example of how he’s still struggling to ignite the Buccaneers’ passing attack.

Brady wanted to make complete an intermediate out route, but he lacked the arm strength to really get the ball out to the far hash with the velocity required to be successful. The end result was a 78-yard interception return for a touchdown by Mike Davis.

For the record, throwing pick-6s isn’t a rarity for Brady as of late. It’s the fourth time he’s thrown a touchdown for the other team in his last six outings. The ugly streak started in New England but the majority of it has occurred with his new Buccaneers teammates.

It’s still too early for panic in Tampa Bay. Brady is a quarterback who needs to intimately understand every detail of his offense before he can play his best football. He’s got a good feeling for what the Buccaneers want to do with the football, but he needs more reps before he truly understands the strengths and weaknesses of Arians’ system.

Expecting him to play like an All-Pro this early in the season was always an unreasonable expectation.

There’s also a great deal for Arians and his coaching staff to learn about Brady. Asking him to throw deep outs across the field isn’t a great use of the future Hall-of-Famer’s skill set. Instead, look for Tampa Bay to work more on getting Brady comfortable with precise timing routes that can take advantage of his exceptional accuracy. That isn’t a typical staple of Arians’ offenses, but it’s what the team needs to do to get Brady playing at a high level.