Tom Brady was absent from practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday, and he will not be returning for a while.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles told reporters that Brady is away from the team to “deal with some personal things.” Bowles said the arrangement was made in advance. Brady will not return until after Tampa Bay’s preseason game against the Tennessee Titans on Aug. 20.
Bowles did not give an exact date for Brady’s return. He also stopped short of guaranteeing that the 45-year-old quarterback will be on the field in Week 1, which led to a follow-up question about whether that is in doubt.
Brady has missed some time during voluntary workouts over the last several years, but he has never left his team during training camp and the preseason. Of course, he is one of the few players in the NFL who can miss important practices and not have it impact his play when the season begins. Time will tell if that ends up being the case with the Bucs.
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