Phillies announcer Tom McCarthy gets big NFL assignment for Week 18

Philadelphia Phillies television voice Tom McCarthy will get his biggest NFL assignment of the year on the final Sunday of the regular season.

Andrew Marchand of The New York Post reports that McCarthy will join Tony Romo on CBS’ No. 1 team Sunday afternoon as the defending Super Bowl Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers host the Carolina Panthers at 4:25 p.m. ET. McCarthy is filling in for Jim Nantz, who Marchand says is out because he’s in health and safety protocols.

It’s probably the biggest NFL assignment McCarthy has had since he called Buffalo Bills at Tennessee Titans last October, which became a prime-time game on a Tuesday night because of a COVID outbreak.

For the Buccaneers, this will be their first game since Antonio Brown stormed off the field in the third quarter of the team’s 28-24 win over the New York Jets in Week 17. Brown has since been released. The Buccaneers are currently the No. 3 seed in the NFC, and could move up to the No. 2 seed if they win against the Panthers and the San Francisco 49ers defeat the Los Angeles Rams.

Meanwhile, the Panthers are playing out the final game of what’s been a disappointing 5-11 season. Sam Darnold will start at quarterback, but Week 17 may mark the final time that Cam Newton suits up as a Panther, and perhaps in the NFL at all.

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