Tom Brady still scheduled to return to Buccaneers next week

Some individuals throughout the pro football community continue to be perplexed over the fact that Tampa Bay Buccaneers star quarterback Tom Brady is in the middle of a 10-day absence away from team activities for unexplained personal reasons. 

Both Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles and general manager Jason Licht have assured fans that Brady's hiatus was planned, but linebacker Devin White later sparked some concern when he said that "we’re praying for whatever (Brady) got going on as a human being." 

As Mike Florio noted for Pro Football Talk, Brady's decision to temporarily step away from the team has nothing to do with his health or the health of any of his family members. It was then reported Monday that the 45-year-old's absence was "preplanned" and "cleared" by the franchise ahead of time. 

According to the Joe Bucs Fan website, Kevin O’Donnell of Tampa Bay television station Fox 13 spoke with Bowles about his quarterback following Monday's practice. 

"Have you been in touch with Tom during this whole period and is he still scheduled to come back next week?" O’Donnell asked. 

"Yes," Bowles replied. 

Meanwhile, Joe Bucs Fan responded: "Brady isn’t completely disconnected from One Buc Palace and he’ll be back next week … Maybe. Hopefully." 

Brady will miss the Buccaneers' second preseason game at the Tennessee Titans this coming Saturday. Tampa Bay plays at the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 27 and then begins the regular season at the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 11, and Brady should be back as an active participant for those contests even if he's a spectator for the Indianapolis matchup. 

Tampa Bay fell to the Miami Dolphins 26-24 this past Saturday.