Former NFL executive: Tom Brady starting in Buccaneers' final preseason game is a 'mistake'

Tom Brady is going to be seeing action this preseason. Believe it or not, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are going to start Brady in their final preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts — an organization he knows all too well.

It's not unheard of for a starting quarterback to play in the preseason. Heck, it was common in at least the third game until just a few years ago.

But Brady? Tom Brady? The seven-time Super Bowl champion and arguably the greatest NFL player of all time?

It's important to note the context here is that Brady just missed 11 days of practice for "personal issues." Tampa's offense has also seen a makeover of sorts this offseason, which includes the addition of Julio Jones — whom Brady has never played a game with.

Head coach Todd Bowles explained that all the "newness" of the offense plays into the decision to start Brady.

"It's important for game continuity," Bowles said, according to ESPN's Jenna Laine. "We have some new guys on the O-line. We have some new guys at receiver. So other than having practiced together, we need to see 'em in a game with certain situations and just the flow of it. No matter how long it is, we just need to see it."

While that reasoning does make sense, playing Brady does come with risk. What if the 45-year-old quarterback gets injured in an otherwise meaningless contest?

Former NFL executive Joe Banner, the co-founder of The 33rd Team, thinks playing Brady is a bad idea for that reason alone.

“This is a mistake to me,” said on his website. "No need to take this risk. He probably will play a few possessions and maybe against backups who haven’t even prepared a game plan.”

You'd have to think the Buccaneers will do everything they can to script a few clean possessions for Brady — so for instance, no naked bootlegs — but there's not much they can do if a young up-and-comer breaks free and decides clobbering the GOAT is a great way to make a name for himself.