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Did Tom Brady’s trespass potentially violate NFL rules?

Pro Football Talk says players and coaches can’t meet prior to offseason conditioning under social-distancing rules.
 
Tom Brady certainly has made his fair share of headlines in his short time as a Buccaneer.
Tom Brady certainly has made his fair share of headlines in his short time as a Buccaneer. [ ANDREW MATTHEWS | ZUMAPRESS.com ]
Published April 24, 2020|Updated April 24, 2020

TAMPA — Tom Brady walked into the wrong house earlier this month, but was he doing the wrong thing in the first place?

Pro Football Talk says that Brady’s accidental trespass April 7, reported by TMZ Thursday, may have been innocent, but his intended visit to to the home of offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich to pick up materials was against NFL rules.

Pro Football Talk quoted a league source saying “players cannot meet with coaches at any time prior to the start of the offseason program.” Meetings outside the building are even more problematic, because in many cases those meetings can happen without detection.

David Kramer, who lives next door to Leftwich in the MacDill area of South Tampa, told TMZ that “I literally was just sitting here and I watch this tall guy just walk into my house. ... He just like dropped his duffel bags down on the floor and just kind of like looked up at me and I’ll never forget the look on his face."

Related: Tom Brady was thrown out of a park by a Tampa recreation worker

According to Pro Football Talk, those duffel bags are an indication that Brady likely intended to work out with Leftwich.

“Totally illegal,” the source told PFT. “They should be fined. Plus, I bet those duffel bags had footballs in them."

Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio says there has been speculation in the media and the league that Tampa Bay is taking a “no (expletive) given” approach to compliance with the rules regarding both the pursuit of Brady and the effort to get him up to speed for the 2020 season, even if violations of stay-at-home orders will make it harder to have a 2020 season.”

The NFL has not yet responded to requests by PFT and the Tampa Bay Times for clarification on the rules. The Bucs have not commented on the report.