Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is taking some time away from the team for personal reasons, Bucs head coach Todd Bowles told the media after Thursday’s joint practice with the Miami Dolphins.
After being excused from practice multiple times over the past week, Brady will now be away from the team for an extended period of time, and is expected back sometime after the Bucs’ second preseason game against the Tennessee Titans, Bowles said.
Appearing on the “Pat McAfee Show,” NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport gave some insight into the situation, and why Brady is taking this time away as training camp comes to a close:
"To my knowledge Tom Brady & his family are fine & it's not a medical emergency.. the best description I got was it's important to find a work/life balance" ~@RapSheet#PMSLive pic.twitter.com/AmMn4Gr2RC
— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) August 11, 2022
Brady wasn’t expected to play in either of Tampa Bay’s first two preseason games, and after having two weeks of training camp to build chemistry with his teammates, it makes perfect sense for him to give way to the rest of the quarterbacks on the roster, who need as many reps as they can get heading into the exhibition games.
It’s also worth noting that Brady’s top three wide receivers (Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Russell Gage) aren’t even practicing right now, so it’s not like he’s missing time with many of the pass-catchers he’ll be throwing to in Week 1.
If this is indeed simply a matter of Brady wanting to maintain a healthy work/life balance, here’s hoping that sets a positive precedent for other professional athletes to do the same.
[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbw5aerff6ff182 player_id=none image=https://bucswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]
[listicle id=69732]