"Tom Brady was AB's angel all along" - Skip Bayless delivers bold take on Antonio Brown's ankle injury explanation 

The fallout from the Antonio Brown incident on Sunday continues. The receiver left the game in the third quarter and tossed his pads and helmet to the ground before exiting down the tunnel.

Brown has been given chance after chance, and Skip Bayless of Fox Sports' Undisputed stated that Brady has been Brown's angel all along and is the main person who has campaigned for the receiver to join his team.

Bayless also pointed out that that the seven-time Super Bowl champion did not address the apparent ankle issue post-game, but instead went down the mental health route.

"Now we're back to Brady, and his reaction to all this," Bayless said. "And I'm going to say it again. Tom Brady was AB's angel all along. He was the one who gave him the second, the third and the fourth chance, or I should go up the line at the seventh, eighth and ninth chance, right.

“He was always his staunchest defender. So right after the game, if Brady had thought that the ankle was the sole issue here, Brady would have said so, he loves him, he needs him, he will go out of his way to defend him.

“So if Brady thought it was all about the ankle," Bayless continued, "he would have immediately driven home that point to the media after the game. His ankle is messed up and it's just too bad. He tried to go and he couldn't go right.

"He got three catches out of him and he took one for the team. But that's all he had left. So you got to give him a break. Didn't hear a peep about the ankle from Tom Brady after the game. He went to we need to show compassion for him. We need to have empathy for him. He went more toward the mental health aspect.”

Can Tom Brady win the Super Bowl without Antonio Brown?

Tom Brady's path to an eighth Super Bowl is a bit tougher with the loss of his veteran receiver. Already without Chris Godwin and now Brown, Brady's receiving corps are running thin.

Mike Evans is still clearly hobbled by his hamstring injury, and Leonard Fournette, who plays a big role in the passing game, is expected to be fit for the playoffs but will not have a game or two beforehand.

The likes of Cyril Grayson (who caught the game-winning touchdown against the Jets), Tyler Johnson, Rob Gronkowski and Breshad Perriman will all be expected to fill the void for the Bucs in the passing game.

Brady is one of, if not the best, quarterback to ever play, so you can't count him out, even without Brown. The playoffs this season are going to be one for the ages and Brady's toughest challenge yet.