Tom Brady‘s complicated 2022 will experience another hiccup. Although Todd Bowles said this was previously discussed, the first-year Buccaneers HC informed media Thursday his starting quarterback will be away from the team until after its second preseason game.
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.
“He’s going to deal with some personal things,” Bowles said, via The Athletic’s Greg Auman (on Twitter). “This is something we talked about before training camp started. We allotted this time because he wanted to get chemistry with the guys [in first two weeks]. … It’s something he needs to handle. We trust him.”
On the surface, 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. Then again, a lot has happened since Brady’s most recent game.
The future walk-in Hall of Famer retired in February, unretired in March, accepted a monster 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 was not punished for his role in the scandal — one that, in addition to owner Stephen Ross, involved Dolphins exec and TB12 board member Bruce Beal — and has not been available for questions since the NFL punished the Dolphins. 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 HC remains with the Bucs. But the timing of Brady’s unretirement and Arians’ latest retirement brought suspicion for many.
Brady, 45, 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.
Now does he retire?
I think the correct context in that last paragraph should point out that the only times since at least 2000 that a team has been stripped of a first round pick due to a scandal it has involved Brady directly or Brady’s team. The odds of that with 32 teams in the league aren’t great.
Must be time for his PED booster.
Parhetic comment
Such a lack of class! No one is perfect, but to insinuate this is idiotic and shows your ignorance! Great job
Going on his special holiday with the medicine men to become super Brady.
Guessing him and Gronk are going on their Honeymoon.
Lost his center and favorite TE, having second thoughts
He is assembling his legal team for the lawsuit the Patriots are filing for being under contract with them and negotiating with Miami.
Gisele ready to find herself a younger athlete?
Zach Wilson?
Probably gonna do the Aaron Roger’s thing and hit up an Ayahuasca Retreat.
Probably meeting with the Hollywood screenwriters to make edits to the movie script.
Doesn’t his mom have cancer?
The fact that Brady is currently signed doesn’t seem relevant to his future plans.