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

Report: Tom Brady expected to return to Bucs 'very shortly'

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports
By Steve DelVecchio | Last updated 8/21/22

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’ QB Tom Brady is expected to return to the team, per a source, “very shortly.” Brady left the team earlier this month for personal reasons.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 21, 2022

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.

Is there any chance? Yes. Bowles saying his confidence was "pretty high" last week left the window open, which is a concern. Brady's already retired once this year, so I think it's hard to rule anything out. He knows how many people came here to play with him this season. https://t.co/VvSnGSRARe

— Greg Auman (@gregauman) August 18, 2022

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.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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