Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

We may never know the real reason Tom Brady left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for an extended period during training camp, but the retirement speculation can be put to rest.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter was told by a source on Sunday that Brady will return to the Bucs “very shortly.”

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles said originally that Brady would return at some point after the team’s preseason game against the Tennessee Titans, which was on Saturday night. That left many wondering if Brady’s future in Tampa Bay was up in the air. Even Greg Auman of The Athletic was unwilling to rule out a second Brady retirement.

It never seemed realistic that Brady would retire, even if he considered it for a few months earlier this offseason. Brady would leave the Bucs in a terrible spot if he did that. One reporter felt the 45-year-old looked unhappy at training camp before his unexplained hiatus, but Brady would be more likely to grind it out than totally abandon ship in mid-August.

One very interesting theory surfaced this week about why Brady may have left Bucs camp for over a week. Time will tell if there is anything to it.

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