It was announced on Thursday that Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady will be away from the team for a little over a week.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said Brady’s absence was discussed before training camp started. The team expects to have him back on the field after its second preseason game on Aug. 20.
“This is something we talked about before training camp started,” Bowles said, via ESPN. “We allotted this time because he wanted to get in and get chemistry with the guys and go through two weeks of training camp, knowing he wasn’t going to play the first two games. He didn’t want to take away reps from Blaine [Gabbert] and Kyle [Trask], as well as ‘Griff’ [Ryan Griffin] going into these next two games, knowing it’s something he needs to handle.”
So, why is Brady going to spend time away from the Buccaneers? NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport pieced together an answer while on The Pat McAfee Show.
“No one is worried. He’s fine,” Rapoport said. “To my knowledge, it’s not a medical emergency for him or anyone close to him. I was told everyone is OK. The best description I got about this what that it’s important to find a work-life balance.”
Prior to this update from Rapoport, it was known that Brady would spend time away from the field to “deal with some personal things.”
Rapoport doesn’t know exactly what those personal matters are, but it’s good to hear that it’s not a medical emergency for anyone in the Brady family.