Report: Tom Brady to be away from Buccaneers for multiple weeks with personal matter

The Bucs face the Titans on Aug. 20. The legendary passer will be away dealing with a personal matter, per Bowles. Brady has already missed three practices since the start of last week.

A player with Brady’s resume missing preseason time is largely inconsequential. This marks Brady’s third season being in this offensive system, and he was not slated to play in the team’s preseason opener against the Dolphins this week. 

The future walk-in Hall of Famer retired in February, unretired in March, accepted a FOX offer to work as an analyst when his actual retirement happens and was at the epicenter of a scandal that saw another team lose a first-round pick. The NFL found enough evidence from the Brady-Sean Payton-Dolphins tampering drama to strip Miami of first- and third-round choices. This marked the third time Brady or a Brady-led team was at the heart of a scandal that saw the league take away a first-round pick, with this multiyear Dolphins case following "Spygate" and "Deflategate." Brady has not been available for questions since the NFL punished the Dolphins for speaking with Brady improperly.

Brady’s retirement and a tampering saga that reaches back to 2019 certainly casts some uncertainty regarding his future with the Bucs, who changed head coaches at an unusual time. Bruce Arians has said multiple times he was not forced out, and the Super Bowl-winning head coach remains with the Bucs.

Brady is signed through season’s end. He agreed to restructure his contract again this year, giving the Bucs more cap space to bolster their roster in yet another busy offseason. The void years tacked onto Brady’s contract would tag Tampa Bay with a substantial dead-money hit if Brady does not sign another extension to stay before the start of the 2023 league year.