Brady will miss at least the preseason opener against the Dolphins on Saturday, practice with the Titans next week in Nashville and the preseason game that followed.
Bowles didn’t provide much insight into why Brady is getting an extended absence, but said the Bucs have known about it for a while.
“He’s going to take care of some personal things,” Bowles said. “We talked about that before the training camp started. We gave ourselves that time because he wanted to come in and get chemistry with the boys and do two weeks of training camp because he knew he wasn’t going to play the first two games.”
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Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht told WDAE Radio in Tampa that Brady’s absence was planned long ago and is not a cause for concern.
When will Brady return? Chris O’Meara/Associated Press
“Obviously we wanted to let him do what he has to do,” Licht said. “He’s focused as always. He’ll come back even more focused. That is the least of our worries.”
But with details scarce, Brady’s more than a week vacation adds even more fuel to worries he hasn’t fully committed to playing football this year.
Among the more plausible explanations for Brady’s absence:
▪ He and his family are taking a trip that was planned for this time of year when he was supposed to be retiring.
His wife, Gisele Bundchen, has wanted Brady to retire for years so that she and the family can get on with life. The “pre-planned trip” theory could also explain why Brady took three days off last week around his birthday.
Would anyone be surprised if, after Brady announced his retirement last February, he and Bundchen planned a lavish vacation for August that they never got to take because he was always playing football? And that Brady made the leave a condition of his return to the Bucs in March?
This theory goes well with Licht’s comment that “we would let him do what he has to do”.
The Bucs will be happy to sidestep Brady’s schedule if that means him coming back for this season and making them a Super Bowl contender again.
▪ Someone in Brady’s family has to do with a health problem.
NFL Network reported that Brady’s absence was for work-life balance and “not a medical emergency.” That’s certainly the scenario everyone is cheering for. Brady’s parents are aging and his mother survived a battle with breast cancer six years ago.
But after Thursday’s practice, Bucs linebacker Devin White made it sound like Brady was on to something.
“Inside we know what’s going on,” White said. “We just pray for him and let him do his business. … More than football, we pray for whatever he is up to as a person and that is all we ask, for his well-being. Soccer comes second. Being human comes first.”
The Bucs insisted Brady’s absence was planned in advance. It’s possible he informed her earlier that a family member is ill and he may need to take some time off. Hopefully that’s not the case and all is well with the Brady family.
Is Brady considering retiring?Chris O’Meara/Associated Press
▪ He is considering retirement again.
Brady has shown several signs that he is no longer fully committed to playing football. He’s already been eliminated once this off-season before changing his mind after 40 days. And we know his main goal that year wasn’t to play football, but to be a leader with the Dolphins. That was undone by the Brian Flores lawsuit, and Brady decided to return to the Bucs only as a fallback.
Brady’s excused absence last week made Bucs fans nervous that he is again considering retirement. Now this extended absence is making her really nervous.
Bowles was asked about his confidence that Brady will be the Bucs starter for Week 1.
“Mine is pretty high,” he said. “Of course there will always be doubts, but I have a pretty high level of confidence.”
That’s not a 100 percent yes. There is a lot of wiggle room in this answer.
It certainly wouldn’t be surprising if Brady decided he had enough football. His best mate, Rob Gronkowski, retired. Center Ryan Jensen, the linchpin of the offensive line, suffered a serious knee injury and may miss the entire season. Brady’s receivers are broken. The Florida heat and humidity are miserable.
The NFL awaits Brady’s next move. Chris O’Meara/Associated Press
Brady wouldn’t be the first veteran player to show up at camp and decide he doesn’t want to do it anymore.
Bowles reiterated that he’s not worried about Brady’s return.
“It’s a personal issue and that’s all I can tell you,” Bowles said. “According to our conversation, I’m not worried.”
Everyone else in Tampa sure is.
Ben Volin can be reached at [email protected].