Tom Brady

While Tom Brady has been away from Tampa Bay Buccaneers camp, former head coach Bruce Arians isn't sweating the possibility that the all-time great will miss the season opener.

When asked during a WFLA broadcast if he was worried about Brady's status for the Sept. 11 game against the Dallas Cowboys, Arians said "not in the slightest" (h/t Greg Auman of The Athletic).

Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times reported Brady let the Buccaneers know he planned to step away for "personal reasons" at some point during training camp, especially since he wasn't scheduled to play in preseason contests against the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans.

Head coach Todd Bowles echoed Arians' comments Friday when he said, "I'm not worried, so I don't know why anyone else would be worried. … I know exactly when Tom is coming back, and I've consistently said it would be sometime after the Titans game (on Saturday)."

Stroud noted Bowles had previously said there was "no definitive date for me."

Tampa Bay lost each of its first two preseason games without the future Hall of Famer and managed just three points in Saturday's outing against the Titans. Kyle Trask went 11-of-24 for 105 yards, zero touchdowns and one interception, while Blaine Gabbert went 3-of-5 for 13 yards, zero touchdowns and zero interceptions.

While the offense looked lost in the 13-3 defeat, there doesn't seem to be too much concern in Tampa Bay regarding Brady's status.

And if there is anyone in NFL history who knows how to manage missing some time and remaining fresh ahead of the season, it is likely Brady. After all, the 45-year-old has been in the league since 2000 and has a resume that includes seven Super Bowl titles, five Super Bowl MVPs, three league MVPs and 15 Pro Bowl nods.

If anything, being away from training camp and preseason in the August heat could help keep Brady fresher for his 23rd season.

Tampa Bay would rather have him healthy and ready to go in January than on the field at this point.

Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski could have donned the Silver and Black in 2020 and 2021, but apparently, former Las Vegas Raiders head coach Jon Gruden wasn't too fond of the idea.

UFC President Dana White said Saturday during an appearance on UFC 278 with The Gronks on ESPN that he had a deal done for Brady and Gronkowski to join the Raiders in 2020 but Gruden "blew the deal up":

"I'm the one... I worked to put that deal together for Brady and Gronk to come to the Raiders and it was almost a done deal. And at the last minute, Gruden blew the deal up and said that he didn't want him and all hell broke loose man. It was crazy, and Brady was already looking at houses and it wasn't being said yet that Gronk was coming. So, Las Vegas would have had Brady and Gronk the year that the Bucs won the Super Bowl, except Gruden blew the deal up."

Gronkowski essentially confirmed the story when responding to White:

"And Dana, that is exactly what happened and you just told the story. It worked out for the best and I'm glad it did not go through."

The news of White contacting Brady is hardly a surprise, though. The UFC boss called the now-seven-time Super Bowl champion during an Instagram live session in March 2020 and pitched him on joining the Raiders:

"Las Vegas would love to have you here with the Raiders. The stadium, the facility is incredible. The training facility that they have outside of Vegas is unbelievable. It's a 45-minute flight from L.A. Your kids and your family could live there and fly back and forth. We want you to come to the Raiders. You know I've been pitching you now for a month. Come on, brother. Get to Vegas."

At the time, Brady said he was being patient and going through the process of searching for a new team for the first time in his career after a 20-year stint with the New England Patriots. However, based on White's story, it seems like he was more than ready to suit up for the Raiders.

The only question is why would Gruden put the kibosh on such a deal? Adding Brady and Gronkowski to an offensive unit that already included Darren Waller, Josh Jacobs and Hunter Renfrow could have put the Raiders among the NFL's elite.

Las Vegas went on to finish second in the AFC West with an 8-8 record during the 2020 campaign, and they missed the playoffs for the fourth straight season. It marked the third straight year the Raiders missed the playoffs in Gruden's return to the franchise. He previously coached the team from 1999 to 2001.

Brady and Gronkowski, meanwhile, teamed up to lead the Buccaneers to a second-place finish in the NFC South with an 11-5 record. They then bulldozed the Washington Commanders, New Orleans Saints, Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs en route to a Super Bowl title.

You can put this down as arguably one of the biggest what-ifs in NFL history.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles apparently does know when Tom Brady's mysterious absence from the team will end.

Speaking to reporters Friday, Bowles said, "I know exactly when Tom is coming back, and I’ve consistently said it would be sometime after the Titans game [Saturday]."

Bowles' comments come one day after he said he wasn't sure when his star quarterback would return.

"We'll see," he told reporters Thursday. "We'll talk about it next week. Not concerned about it right now. We're trying to practice against Tennessee and play a game. I said, 'Sometime after Tennessee.' There's no definitive date for me. But we'll check on it, we'll keep in touch and we'll find out."

When Brady missed practice Aug. 11, Bowles announced he had an excused absence and wouldn't return until sometime after Saturday's preseason game against the Titans.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport noted Brady is fine and his absence is for personal, non-football reasons.

This marks the second time Brady has been away from the team to tend to a personal matter. The seven-time Super Bowl champion was excused from practice Aug. 5, but he was back the following day.

Given the lack of information about why Brady is away from the team, online conspiracy theorists have been digging for clues. One idea that came out Friday is that he's filming an appearance as a contestant on The Masked Singer.

Brady missed Tampa's first preseason game against the Miami Dolphins on Aug. 13. After Saturday's contest with the Titans, the Bucs will wrap up their exhibition schedule against the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 27.

The Buccaneers open the regular season Sept. 11 with a road game against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has been away from the team while dealing with a personal matter, and it appears that his return is far from imminent.

Bucs head coach Todd Bowles told reporters he expects Brady to be back at some point after the team's second preseason game against the Tennessee Titans, but he wouldn't commit to an official date.

"We'll see," Bowles said. "We'll talk about it next week. Not concerned about it right now. We're trying to practice against Tennessee and play a game. I said 'sometime after Tennessee.' There's no definitive date for me. But we'll check on it, we'll keep in touch and we'll find out."

Bowles announced Aug. 11 that Brady would be away from the team for "personal reasons." The absence was reportedly planned prior to training camp. Despite the vagueness regarding what caused his hiatus, Brady is "fine" and the Bucs are "on board with his reasons for being absent," per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Bowles said Thursday that he has kept in contact with Brady and he's "confident" the 45-year-old will be starting under center for the regular-season opener against the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 11.

Brady is entering his 23rd NFL season and third in Tampa. It appears he has only gotten better with age. In 2021, Brady led the league with 5,316 passing yards and 43 touchdowns. He finished with a 67.5 completion percentage and set career highs in completions (485) and attempts (719).

While Brady should have no problem getting up to speed when he returns, the time away could cause some chemistry concerns. Tampa Bay retained most of its core on offense but added new faces in receivers Julio Jones and Russell Gage. Second-year center Robert Hainsey was thrust into the starting role after Ryan Jensen's devastating knee injury.

Still, Bowles indicated Thursday that the team is not concerned about Brady reintegrating himself into the offense when he makes his way back.

Antonio Brown targeted Tom Brady and trainer Alex Guerrero in a series of tweets Wednesday:

Brown's dispute with Guerrero stems from the wideout looking to get some of his $100,000 back after the two ended their professional relationship.

Guerrero has worked with Brady throughout much of the quarterback's career, also providing his services to teammates on the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brown's work with Guerrero came to an end at some point after he was released by the Buccaneers last season.

Brown's relationship with Brady also soured after his departure from Tampa Bay, and it seems he is not happy about the quarterback's current hiatus from the team.

Brady is currently away from the Buccaneers on an excused absence due to personal reasons.

The California High School Football Hall of Fame is going big with its inaugural class that will be unveiled at the Rose Bowl later this year.

The Rose Bowl Legacy Foundation announced the class of 113 players and coaches includes Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and John Elway.

Other notable athletes who will be inducted are Jackie Robinson, Reggie Bush and Richard Sherman.

Per NFL.com's Grant Gordon, the entire class features 29 players who have already been inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

Per Eric Sondheimer of the Los Angeles Times, players and coaches were nominated for the Hall of Fame "by the public and suggested by media sources for their contributions to high school football in California."

Robinson, who attended John Muir High School (Pasadena, California) starting in 1935, played baseball, football, track and basketball. Football was considered his best sport while he was in college at UCLA.

Brady was born and raised in California. The six-time Super Bowl champion played high school football at Junípero Serra. He was also a baseball player and got selected by the Montreal Expos in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB draft after he graduated.

A four-time NFL MVP, Rodgers briefly lived in Oregon before his family returned to California. He graduated from Pleasant Valley High School in 2002. The Green Bay Packers superstar set a school record with 2,466 passing yards in 2001.

Elway, like Brady, excelled in baseball and football as a high schooler. He was selected in the MLB draft twice, including out of Granada Hills High School in 1979 (18th round by the Kansas City Royals).

According to Gordon, the Rose Bowl is honoring 100 players in the inaugural class in celebration of the Rose Bowl Stadium's 100-year anniversary in 2022.

The California High School Football Hall of Fame is set to open in November, with a formal induction ceremony for the inaugural class taking place in the spring of 2023.

Tom Brady somehow continues to get better as he enters his 23rd NFL season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen discussed Brady's level of play through training camp, via Peter King of NBC Sports:

I don’t think I’ve ever seen him throw the football better. It’s remarkable — 45 years old and the ball comes off his hand with such zip, throw after throw. How does that happen with someone who’s 45? It’s like a lot of things about him. It defies common sense. This just hasn’t happened before. What he’s done is incorporate his whole body into his throws. He has trained his arm to be a part of his throwing, not all of it.

Though we haven't seen Brady in a game yet this year, the 45-year-old has thrived since arriving in Tampa Bay in 2020. After leading the Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title in his first year with the team, he finished 2021 with a league-leading 5,316 passing yards and 43 passing touchdowns.

There was an extra game on the schedule last year, but Brady's 312.7 passing yards per game were the second-most of his career as he finished second in MVP voting.

Despite briefly retiring and returning this offseason, it's clear Brady is not slowing down.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Kyle Trask made a strong impression in his preseason debut Saturday night in a 26-24 loss to the Miami Dolphins.

Trask completed 25 of 33 passes for 258 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

One of his best drives came in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter when he led the offense on a charge down the field with a chance to win the game. However, Jose Borregales missed a 49-yard field goal attempt, and Miami walked away with the win.

Despite the loss, Bucs fans still praised Trask for his performance, even declaring that he'll be the team's quarterback of the future.

Considering Tom Brady retired for a brief period this winter before announcing his return, it's certainly not too early for Bucs fans to be thinking about life beyond the seven-time Super Bowl champion.

The Bucs selected Trask in the second round of the 2021 draft out of Florida, where he had an impressive senior season in 2020, completing 68.9 percent of his passes for 4,283 yards and 43 touchdowns against eight interceptions in 12 games.

However, Trask has yet to suit up in a regular-season game for the Buccaneers. With Brady starting, Blaine Gabbert has been his backup, leaving Trask as the odd man out.

Still, the 24-year-old is being viewed as the future at quarterback in Tampa Bay. If he continues to impress during the preseason, the Bucs may feel more confident about their future at the position moving forward.

Tom Brady's excused absence from Tampa Bay Buccaneers training camp "has nothing to do with" his or his family members' health, according to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

Brady's mother, Galynn, has survived cancer, and his father, Tom Sr., was hospitalized last year from COVID-19.

During mandatory minicamp in June, Brady talked about his life outside of football, via Stroud:

"It's very challenging when you're 43 or 44 because there are a lot of other things that are pressing and a lot of other things that are really important in your life, like your kids and your wife and different relationships. Things have always taken a back seat to football. That's just how it has gone for me.

"I have a very tricky, complex life in different aspects and I'm just trying to navigate it the best way I can."

Brady's absence from training camp, which is because of "personal reasons," was discussed ahead of training camp, head coach Todd Bowles told reporters Thursday:

"We allotted this time because he wanted to get in and get chemistry with the guys and go through two weeks of training camp. Knowing he wasn't going to play the first two games, he didn't want to take away reps from Blaine [Gabbert] and Kyle [Trask], as well as [Ryan Griffin], as far as going into these next two games. It's something that he needs to handle. We trust him."

Buccaneers general manager Jason Licht told 95.3 WDAE on Thursday (h/t JoeBucsFan.com) that the veteran quarterback's absence from the team was "the least of our concerns."

The 45-year-old is not expected to return until after Tampa Bay's second preseason game Aug. 20 against the Tennessee Titans. The Bucs' first regular-season game is at the Dallas Cowboys on Sept. 11.

Brady entered a brief retirement Feb. 1 before announcing his return to the Bucs for a third season, his 23rd year in the NFL.

He is aiming to increase his record total of seven Super Bowl titles, but missing some of training camp isn't likely to impact Tampa Bay's chances.

The Buccaneers have the second-best odds to win the Super Bowl this season at +700, per DraftKings Sportsbook. The only team with better odds is the Buffalo Bills at +600.

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