Tom Brady's absence continues: QB out for at least the next 10 days due to non-football related reasons
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady missed practice Thursday for personal reasons and will not return to the team after the Buccaneers’ second preseason game against the Titans on Aug. 20, head coach Todd Bowles told reporters.
“Tom is forgiven today,” Bowles said. “He’ll be back to Tennessee sometime later. He’s going to deal with some personal things.
“It’s something we talked about before the training camp started. We allotted this time because he wanted to go in and do chemistry with people and go through a two-week training camp. Knowing he wasn’t going to play the first two games, he didn’t want to take reps from Blaine (Gabert) and Kyle (Trask), as well as (Ryan Griffin) these next two games.”
Although Bowles remained opaque on the details of Brady’s absence, the coach indicated that if it was important to Brady, it was important to the Books.
“It’s something he needs to handle,” Bowles. “We trust him. We talked about it. It was scheduled before training camp.”
Boles played down any concerns when asked if he had any doubts that Brady would play against the Cowboys in the September 11 regular season opener.
Coach Todd Bowles: Tom Brady away from Tampa Bay Buccaneers to ‘deal with some personal things’
“Here’s everything I understand about it,” Rapoport began.
“It was planned. No one is worried. He is fine. To my knowledge, this is not a medical emergency related to him or, I believe, anyone close to him. I was told That’s all right. The best detail I found about it was that it’s important to find work-life balance,” Rapoport said.
According to coach Todd Bowles, Brady’s absence in the second pre-season game against the Titans was discussed with Tampa Bay’s front office and coaching staff prior to training camp.
Brady is, of course, the most accomplished quarterback in NFL history and continues to play at a very high level into his mid-forties. He led the league in passing yards and touchdown passes in 2021 at the age of 44 and turned 45 earlier this month. Brady had considered retirement for some time prior to the 2022 season, but announced his intention to return in March. His level of experience and his two seasons of high level playing in the Bucs’ offense make his absence less of a concern.
“Depending on the situation, I would still be concerned about his quarterback,” Bowles said. “Yeah, if he doesn’t have the years and experience that that guy has and comes in and works diligently I would certainly be worried.”
The Buccaneers do not have scheduled practice the day before the game (Friday) or the day after the game (Sunday), so Brady will not miss his next practice until Monday (August 15).
Thursday’s practice marked the third time in eight days that Brady has not been on the field with the team. Brady did not practice on his birthday (August 3) because the team gave him a day off, which was scheduled. Two days later, Brady was released from practice. He then returned to the field for four drills (Saturday, Sunday, Tuesday, Wednesday) before missing out on Thursday’s session.
An interesting point about Brady’s absence is that he still hasn’t met the media since being named in the NFL’s investigative report into the Dolphins. Back on August 2, the NFL punished the Dolphins for tampering with Brady by docking two draft picks (a first-rounder and a third-rounder) to the team.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady missed practice Thursday for personal reasons and will not return to the team after the Buccaneers’ second preseason game against the Titans on Aug. 20, head coach Todd Bowles told reporters.
“Tom is forgiven today,” Bowles said. “He’ll be back to Tennessee sometime later. He’s going to deal with some personal things.
“It’s something we talked about before the training camp started. We allotted this time because he wanted to go in and do chemistry with people and go through a two-week training camp. Knowing he wasn’t going to play the first two games, he didn’t want to take reps from Blaine (Gabert) and Kyle (Trask), as well as (Ryan Griffin) these next two games.”
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