The way Andrew Adams remembers, the texts and tweets from teammates dinged vigorously the moment quarterback Tom Brady announced he was signing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. In their minds, it meant the Bucs were going to the Super Bowl, even back in March, fresh off a 7-9 season.
Turns out that optimism was warranted. They are playing in their home stadium Sunday in Super Bowl LV against the Kansas City Chiefs (6:30 p.m. ET, CBS).
And Adams, a reserve safety who began his pro career as an undrafted free agent with the New York Giants, has a realistic chance of playing a significant role on defense against a scary Patrick Mahomes-led offense while starting strong safety Jordan Whitehead deals with a shoulder injury.