TAMPA, Fla. — A day after the most disconcerting loss of the season, Tampa Bay Coach Todd Bowles spent part of Monday afternoon’s postmortem downplaying the incident many national outlets were bent on overplaying.

Tom Brady’s attendance at Patriot owner Robert Kraft’s wedding in New York City on Friday night, resulting in his absence from Saturday morning’s team meetings and walk-throughs.

Naturally, Brady’s brief getaway – combined with the Bucs’ unsightly 20-18 loss Sunday to the injury-besieged Steelers – prompted rampant dissection of the incident. Questions posted on social media and national sports-talk shows ranged from whether Brady gets special treatment to whether his attendance at the wedding on a game weekend put off teammates.

Moments after the game, Bowles said Brady’s absence from Saturday’s team sessions had no bearing on the team’s 25% efficiency in the red zone. On Monday, Bowles was asked about the perception Brady is treated differently than his peers.

“He works as hard as anybody,” the coach said. “Special treatment, there’s been a few guys that have missed some meetings and some practices for some special things that just doesn’t get publicized because they’re not him. So it kind of comes with the territory, you don’t worry about it too much.”

Bowles added that player absences from the team — due to weddings, funerals, etc. — occur “a lot more than you realize.” Just so happened, Brady’s latest departure came just before his team amassed a season-low 304 yards, finished 4 for 14 on third down and had to settle for a field goal after getting a first and goal at the 3.

Combine those optics with his 11-day absence from training camp, and another inevitable question arises.

Is Brady still locked in as much as past seasons?

“Yes,” Bowles said.

TRADE: The Arizona Cardinals have made a move to bolster their struggling offense, adding disgruntled receiver Robbie Anderson in a trade with the Carolina Panthers on Monday.

Both teams announced the deal, saying the Panthers would receive “undisclosed draft compensation” in return. A source said the Panthers would receive a sixth-round pick in 2024 and a seventh-round pick in 2025.

Anderson’s days in Carolina appeared numbered after he was sent off the field and into the locker room by interim coach Steve Wilks during the second half of the Panthers’ 24-10 loss to the Rams on Sunday, following a sideline argument with an assistant coach.

The Panthers will save $690,000 this year under the salary cap for the trade, but will have to absorb $19.4 million in dead money over the next two seasons. The 29-year-old Anderson has been durable and productive for the Jets and Panthers over the past seven seasons. His best year came in 2020, when he caught 95 passes for 1,096 yards and three touchdowns.

COMMANDERS: Carson Wentz underwent surgery Monday to repair a broken right ring finger, sidelining the Washington starting quarterback six games into his tenure with the team.

The Commanders did not provide a specific timeframe of how much time Wentz will miss. If he goes on injured reserve, he would be out at least four games, which would mean missing returns to Indianapolis and Philadelphia.

Taylor Heinicke is expected to start Sunday when Washington hosts Green Bay, his 17th NFL start since being a surprise playoff star in the playoffs in January 2021. Wentz was injured when his throwing hand got tangled up with Chicago Bears defensive lineman Justin Jones while delivering a pass during the second quarter of the game Thursday night.

DOLPHINS: Tua Tagovailoa is back, a welcome sight for a Miami team that has not won a game since he suffered a concussion on Sept. 29.

Tagovailoa will go through practice this week as the Dolphins starter, and assuming all goes well, he is expected to start Sunday night against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Tagovailoa returned to practice on a limited basis last week. He had been in the concussion protocols since getting hurt and needing to be taken off the field on a stretcher against the Cincinnati Bengals in Week 4.

TEXANS: Houston, off to a 1-3-1 start, parted ways with executive vice president of football operations Jack Easterby, The Associated Press has confirmed.

Easterby came to Houston in 2019 after working for the New England Patriots for several years in jobs such has chaplain and character coach. He was hired as executive vice president of team development before being promoted to his current role in January 2020.

He was close to team owner Cal McNair and gained more power in the organization after coach and General Manager Bill O’Brien was fired following the team’s 0-4 start in 2020. Easterby and the Texans drew criticism in 2021 when they ignored a search firm’s recommendations and instead hired former Patriots director of player personnel Nick Caserio as their new GM.

LIONS: Detroit defensive lineman Levi Onwuzurike is out for the season after having back surgery earlier this month, Coach Dan Campbell announced Monday.

The Lions drafted the former Washington standout with the No. 41 pick overall in 2021 and he had an underwhelming rookie season. Onwuzurike played in 16 games as a backup last year and had 35 tackles, including one sack. While trying to recover from a back injury this season, he did not play in a game.