Mike Edwards is the first player to pick off Tom Brady as a Buccaneer

(Photo: Buccaneers.com)

Tom Brady, ever heard of him?

Arguably the greatest quarterback in NFL history made a league-altering decision this spring, leaving the New England Patriots after 20 years with the organization in favor of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

As he gets used to life in Tampa, a former Wildcat gave him a warm welcome in practice this afternoon in the form of his first interception with the team.

In the Buccaneers’ first full-speed practice between the offense and defense, former Kentucky safety Mike Edwards became the first player to pick Brady off in practice.

In a day-three practice report, Buccaneers.com staff writer Carmen Vitali broke down the moment, calling it a “great read” on the sideline.

“Brady fired a dart to tight end Rob Gronkowski over the middle that no one was quite expecting. Made both the offense and defense go, “OOOOOHHH,”‘ wrote Vitali. “The defense giveth and then taketh away. Immediately after that pass – we got the first interception of Brady. It was safety Mike Edwards that did the honors, making a great read and jumping a route just as Brady fired a pass off toward the sideline. Show of hands who got that one right.”

The praise continued for the former Wildcat, with Vitali reporting that Edwards almost snagged another pick just a few plays later.

“Edwards wasn’t done yet, almost nabbing one off [Blaine] Gabbert a couple plays later,” she said.

Safety Mike Edwards has the first practice INT off Tom Brady, Carmen reports … https://t.co/IELx3nTTd3

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) August 14, 2020

Edwards, the No. 99 overall pick in the third round last year, finished his rookie season with 45 total tackles (33 solo), six pass deflections and one sack in 15 games.

In four years at Kentucky, Edwards never missed a game, playing in 51 games with 44 consecutive starts.

In that span, the former Wildcat totaled 318 career tackles to become just the 19th player in school history with 300 or more tackles. He also ranks second in UK history in tackles among defensive backs, behind only Darryl Bishop (348 from 1971-73).

The Cincinnati, OH native was a three-time All-SEC member (2016, 2017, 2o18) in his time at Kentucky.

Check out some of his rookie highlights below: