Tom Brady Skips Out on Tampa Bay Buccaneers Training Camp to ‘Deal With Some Personal Things’ (Let the Speculation Begin)

Oh, Tom Brady. One minute he’s the biggest football star in the NFL. The next he’s retired (for a mere 40 days). Then he’s back. Now he’s sitting on the sidelines again. Or something to that extent. Apparently, the man most consider to be the best quarterback ever is taking some time off from training camp with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to “deal with some personal things.”

The announcement came last Thursday after Brady was excused from the Bucs’ joint practice with the Miami Dolphins.

“Tom has been excused today,” Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles said after practice, per the team’s website. “He will be back sometime around after [the] Tennessee [preseason game]. He’s going to deal with some personal things.”

Bowles went on to say, “This is something we talked about before training camp started. We allotted this time because he wanted to get in and chemistry with the guys and go through two weeks of training camp.”

“It’s something that he needs to handle,” Bowles continued. “We trust him. We talked about it — it was scheduled way before training camp and he will not be here until after Tennessee.”

What does this all mean? Well, on a practical level, it means Tom Brady will sit out a pair of preseason games (which he likely wasn’t going to play anyway, as the team wants to keep its star player well-rested and ready to rumble when the season really gets into gear). We likely won’t see him tossing the ol’ pigskin around until after Tampa Bay’s preseason game against the Tennessee Titans on Aug. 20. The regular season gets underway on Sept. 11, when the Bucs take on the Dallas Cowboys.

Those are the facts. But what are these “personal things” Tom Brady is dealing with? They’re anybody’s guess. Some say he’s getting plastic surgery. Others suspect that an ailing family member is behind the absence. A milder rumor is that his wife, Gisele Bundchen, planned a family trip during Brady’s micro-retirement, and gosh darn it if they aren’t going to take it as planned. Finally, some wonder if the GOAT is considering retiring again.

It’s hard to believe anyone as venerated as Brady would want to essentially quit his job, but hey, if you have all the money in the world, why bother working anymore?

Cover Photo: Icon Sportswire / Contributor (Getty Images)