Tom Brady

Tom Brady is taking time away from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to "deal with some personal things," head coach Todd Bowles told reporters Thursday, and the franchise isn't worried about his absence.

"Of course, we were going to let him do what he needs to do. He’s focused as ever. He’ll come back even more focused. It’s the least of our concerns," Bucs general manager Jason Licht told WDAE Radio on Thursday (h/t JoeBucsFan.com).

Brady isn't expected to return to the Bucs until after the team's second preseason game on Aug. 20 against the Tennessee Titans.

Bowles told reporters that Brady's absence was discussed ahead of training camp:

"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 'Griff' [Ryan Griffin] going into these next two games, knowing it's something he needs to handle."

The only other times Brady has been excused this summer were Aug. 3 to celebrate his 45th birthday and Aug. 5. The team had Aug. 4 off.

The Buccaneers open the 2022 campaign on Sept. 11 against the Dallas Cowboys, and Bowles isn't concerned about the veteran signal-caller potentially missing that matchup.

"Obviously, there's always going to be doubt," Bowles told reporters, "but I have a pretty high level of confidence, yes."

Brady is returning for his third season in Tampa after spending the first 20 years of his career with the New England Patriots. He entered a brief retirement this winter, but decided to return to football, citing "unfinished business."

The Buccaneers certainly have bigger issues than Brady missing training camp, as Licht noted. For one, the team will be without starting center Ryan Jensen indefinitely due to a knee injury, and 24-year-old Robert Hainsey is in line to replace him.

The team's receiving group is also dealing with some injuries. Mike Evans is nursing a hamstring ailment, Russell Gage left practice with a leg injury this week and Breshad Perriman has also been injured for most of training camp.

The good news is the team still has about four weeks to put everything together for the regular season.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is reportedly "fine" after being excused from his team's joint practice with the Miami Dolphins on Thursday for personal reasons, but he will be away for some time.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network provided the report and more details:

Tom Brady is fine and the team is on board with his reasons for being absent. But it'll be a little bit before he's back. https://t.co/OkdVgjnRJa

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) August 11, 2022

Head coach Todd Bowles spoke with reporters after practice and gave some timelines on Brady's return:

Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles says Tom Brady is excused for personal reasons and plans to return to the team after the Aug. 20 preseason game against the Tennessee Titans

— Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) August 11, 2022

Bowles twice doesn’t commit to definitely having Brady back with the team for Week 1, but based on his tone he didn’t seem overly concerned.

— Adam Beasley (@AdamHBeasley) August 11, 2022

Brady was also excused from practice last Friday for a personal matter, but he returned one day later.

The 45-year-old is entering his 23rd NFL season and his third with the Bucs. He is a seven-time Super Bowl champion and three-time NFL MVP.

Brady got the veteran's day off on his birthday, Aug. 3, although that absence was planned in advance.

As ESPN's Jenna Laine noted, Brady already wasn't going to play Saturday in the preseason opener against Miami before the latest excused absence.

He played in two of the Bucs' three preseason games last year, completing 12 of 16 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown in limited action.

The Buccaneers' preseason continues Aug. 20 against the Tennessee Titans before closing with the Indianapolis Colts on Aug. 27. Their regular season opens Sept. 11 versus the Dallas Cowboys.

Brady, who briefly retired this offseason before rejoining the Bucs, had another stellar season last year. He completed 67.5 percent of his passes for 43 touchdowns (12 interceptions) and 5,316 yards. Brady set career highs in completions (485), attempts (719), touchdowns (43) and passing yards per game (312.7).

The Bucs, who won the Super Bowl in Brady's first year at the helm, finished 13-4 last season and won the NFC South. They lost to the eventual Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams 30-27 in the NFC Divisional Round.

Sans Brady, the Bucs' top quarterback is veteran Blaine Gabbert. Kyle Trask is behind Gabbert on the depth chart.

Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa isn't overtly concerned that his team approached Tampa Bay Buccaneers signal-caller Tom Brady about joining the Fins while the ex-Alabama star was still at the helm.

"Yeah, I mean, I'm still here," he told reporters Wednesday, per ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques. "To me, that's all noise at this point."

Tagovailoa, who previously told reporters that he believes Miami is "all in" on him running the show, is entering his third NFL season. He completed 67.8 percent of his passes for 16 touchdowns (10 interceptions) and 2,653 yards in 13 games last year.

The NFL discovered that the Dolphins violated the league's anti-tampering policy three times from 2019 to 2022, with two of those occurring in talks with Brady, per Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press. They had "impermissible communications" as early as August 2019 and through the 2019 playoffs while he played for the New England Patriots.

Brady became a free agent in the 2020 offseason and signed with the Bucs. The Dolphins were found to have spoken with him while he was with Tampa Bay about two years later.

The Fins spoke with Brady and his agent, Don Yee, "no later than early December 2021" but again after the Bucs' season ended in January, when he was still under contract with the team.

"Those discussions focused on Brady becoming a limited partner in the Dolphins and possibly serving as a football executive, although at times they also included the possibility he would play for the Dolphins," Maaddi wrote.

Owner Stephen Ross, who took part in those talks, was suspended and fined $1.5 million. Dolphins vice chairman/limited partner Bruce Beal was fined $500,000 and may not participate in any league meetings.

Brady ended up briefly retiring before returning to the Bucs. Tagovailoa, the No. 5 overall pick in the 2020 NFL draft, will start for a Dolphins team that welcomed new offensive talent such as wideout Tyreek Hill and running back Chase Edmonds. They open the season on Sept. 11 against the New England Patriots.

Miami Dolphins coach Mike McDaniel doesn't have a problem sharing the field with Tom Brady despite the recent revelations on the team's tampering.

"Everyone else is making it awkward. It's not for me," McDaniel told reporters Wednesday. "... Our focus is coordinated."

The Dolphins forfeited two draft picks for tampering after the NFL determined the organization had impermissible contact with Brady, both in 2019 when he was a member of the New England Patriots and in 2021 when he was under contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Though Brady initially retired earlier in the 2022 offseason, the quarterback returned to Tampa Bay for his third season with the team.

The Buccaneers are set to have a joint practice and scrimmage with the Dolphins on Wednesday.

The pairing could make things uncomfortable for Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, who knows the team was looking to replace him with Brady. The 2020 No. 5 draft pick is Miami's unquestioned starter going into 2022, but he clearly wasn't ownership's first choice after some up-and-down seasons.

The tampering probe also showed the Dolphins attempted to speak to former New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton but didn't receive permission before he retired.

It could put McDaniel's job in question, knowing he also was a consolation prize for the team and might be replaced if Payton wants to return to the sidelines.

McDaniel is still looking to keep the team focused heading into his first year in charge.

Despite questions about ownership that have continued since former coach Brian Flores filed a lawsuit against the NFL in February, the Dolphins have an opportunity to be a legitimate playoff contender in 2022. The squad finished 9-8 last year and made significant upgrades in the offseason, including the additions of Tyreek Hill and Chase Edmonds.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Tom Brady was excused from Friday's training-camp practice to handle a personal matter.

Myles Simmons of Pro Football Talk reported Brady's absence from the session.

Backups Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask assumed the reins of the Bucs offense.

Brady rarely misses any game action, starting every possible regular season and playoff game in the past five years. The last time he didn't play in a game was because of a suspension in 2016, while the last game missed with an injury was when he tore his ACL in 2008.

The quarterback has still dealt with various ailments, including a knee injury suffered in 2020 that required offseason surgery. Though he wasn't on the injury report at any time during the season, he was reportedly planning the procedure for months.

He also dealt with various injuries during his time with the New England Patriots, playing through elbow and thumb problems at different points.

It hasn't done much to slow down the 45-year-old, who continues to play at a high level.

Brady led the Buccaneers to the Super Bowl title in his first year with the team, taking home his seventh career title and fifth Super Bowl MVP award. He followed it up with 5,316 passing yards and 46 touchdowns during the 2021 season, leading the league in both category.

Tampa Bay kicks off the preseason Aug. 13 with a home game against the Miami Dolphins. It was previously announced the future Hall of Famer won't play in that contest.

Thursday will mark the unofficial start of the 2022 NFL preseason when the Las Vegas Raiders take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in the annual Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. Week 1 of the preseason will open August 11, and the regular season will kick off September 8.

In just over a month, what might be the most thrilling NFL season in recent memory will begin.

Recent years have brought plenty of excitement to the league. Patrick Mahomes cashed in with his first Super Bowl win three years ago. Tom Brady won his record seventh in 2020, and the upstart Cincinnati Bengals nearly won their first in 2021—instead, the Los Angeles Rams lifted the Lombardi Trophy in their first season with quarterback Matthew Stafford.

Yet, there are multiple reasons the 2022 season could top everything we've seen in recent years.

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This May Be the Most Talented NFL We've Ever Seen

Brady created a huge reason to tune into the NFL in 2022 when he decided to unretire earlier this offseason. The 45-year-old (happy birthday, Tom!) is set to give fans a potential swan song.

Brady insists that talented players haven't flocked to Tampa in order to play with him.

"Guys choose this team because of the team, not because of me," Brady said, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk.

With all due respect to Brady—and yes, the Bucs are talented—some players have undoubtedly joined Tampa to play with the GOAT. His commitment to greatness has a certain magnetism, and while not every fan may like Brady, he remains one of the game's biggest draws.

And he is far from the only future Hall of Famer who will take the field in 2022.

Stars such as Aaron Rodgers, Aaron Donald and Von Miller are virtual locks to land in Canton. T.J. Watt, Russell Wilson, Justin Tucker and Travis Kelce are on their way. Then, we have a crop of young, rising stars—one that includes Joe Burrow, Justin Jefferson, Ja'Marr Chase, Justin Herbert, Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen—that is quite likely to produce a Hall of Famer or three.

The reality is that the NFL isn't what it used to be, and we're not talking rules changes or a surge in offensive production. Players go through better training regimens, better dietary programs and more advanced learning than ever.

As a result, we're seeing guys like Brady playing longer and rookies becoming instant stars.

Consider that a 44-year-old Brady threw for a league-high 5,316 yards and 43 touchdowns last season. New England Patriots rookie Mac Jones, 23, threw for 3,801 yards and 22 touchdowns while joining Brady with a Pro Bowl nod.

Faster starts, longer careers and an emphasis on peak physical conditioning have caused a significant overlap in "generational" players. The result is a leaguewide roster that boasts more talent from top to bottom than we've ever seen.

Fans can turn on just about any game in the coming season and see good quality football and highlight-reel plays. Not only is the NFL bigger than it's ever been, it's also better.

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So Many Good Quarterbacks

No position is more important than quarterback. Signal-callers handle the ball on every offensive snap, serve as faces of franchises and, more often than not, dictate a team's potential to win a championship.

Nowhere is the NFL's glut of talent more apparent than at this position. No, there still aren't enough high-end starters to man all 32 franchises, but the league is getting close.

Let's take a quick spin around the NFL for context. Just before the draft, Bleacher Report's Gary Davenport ranked all 32 quarterback situations heading into 2022. Aforementioned Pro Bowler Jones and the Patriots ranked only 19th.

New England had a Pro Bowl quarterback last season, and 18 franchises were deemed to have better QB situations.

Teams ranked below the Patriots, include the San Francisco 49ers, Miami Dolphins, Jacksonville Jaguars, New York Jets and Chicago Bears. Each of these five teams features a recent first-round pick—Trey Lance, Tua Tagovailoa, Trevor Lawrence, Zach Wilson and Justin Fields, respectively—who is still unproven but who has the potential to be great.

Even if players such as Lawrence and Fields aren't spectacular in 2022, their continued development will be a lot of fun to watch.

In the mix are potential comebacks from Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, the first and second picks in the 2015 draft, respectively. Neither succeeded with his original franchise, but both are young enough at 28 to revitalize their careers this season—Winston at the helm of a very strong New Orleans Saints roster, Mariota with the Atlanta Falcons.

Mitch Trubisky could also make noise in a rebound effort with the Pittsburgh Steelers. If he can't, he'll open the door for the only quarterback drafted in April's first round, Kenny Pickett.

While not every quarterback matchup will feature two elite passers, most will bring interest and intrigue.

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The Playoff Races Will Be Something Special

If the 2022 season is going to be historically great, it will have to generate excitement from Week 1 to Week 18.

Early-season exhilaration isn't difficult to create. Fans have been longing for football for months and will be happy just to see their favorite teams and players take the field. Late-season interest, however, hinges on engrossing storylines and tight playoff races.

This year's campaign is likely to provide both.

Part of the drama will stem from last year's expansion to a 17-game schedule and the 2020 expansion to 14 playoff teams. With only one first-round bye at stake and an extra playoff spot in each conference, races are decided far later in the season than in previous years.

Consider the fact that Jacksonville, which finished with the league's worst record in 2021, wasn't officially eliminated until Week 14. The Indianapolis Colts, Los Angeles Chargers, Baltimore Ravens and New Orleans Saints were all eliminated in Week 18.

And let's not forget the regular-season finale between the Raiders and the Chargers, a game that went to overtime, nearly ended in a tie that would have sent both franchises to the playoffs.

"Week 18 was a damn treat," The Ringer's Rodger Sherman wrote.

In addition, we're going to have some tight divisional races in 2022.

The defending AFC champion Bengals will have to fend off the perennial playoff contender Pittsburgh and the Ravens, who should have a healthy Jackson back under center after he suffered an ankle injury late last season. In the AFC South, last year's top-seeded Tennessee Titans will vie with the Colts, who added quarterback Matt Ryan in the offseason.

In the AFC East, the Buffalo Bills and Patriots were both playoff teams in 2021. The Dolphins were a nine-win squad and added star receiver Tyreek Hill in the offseason.

Over in the NFC West, the Rams, 49ers and Arizona Cardinals all made the postseason a year ago. The AFC's counterpart could put four teams in the playoffs this year.

Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs remain the ones to beat in the AFC West, but the division's other three squads loaded up on talent in the offseason. The Broncos added Wilson, the Raiders added Davante Adams and Chandler Jones, while the Chargers added J.C. Jackson and Khalil Mack.

When tasked with predicting division winners for 2022, Bleacher Report's panel of NFL experts had only two consensus picks—the Bills in the AFC East and the Bucs in the NFC South.

With the NFL placing an emphasis on late-season divisional games, there's a whole lot that won't be decided until the final month.

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The Schedule Is Impressive

We've established that playoff races will continue to generate excitement throughout the year and that great players and matchups won't be difficult to find. If fans are looking to catch the best of the best, though? Well, they're going to have an easy time of it.

Here's where we give due recognition to the NFL's schedule-makers. Fans will always gravitate toward their favorite teams on Sunday afternoons, but the league's slate of prime-time and nationally televised matchups is fantastic.

On the Monday Night Football schedule, fans will be treated to some wonderful games. Wilson will take on his former team, the Seattle Seahawks, in Week 1; the Bills and Titans will do battle in Week 2; and the Rams will face the rival 49ers—who beat them twice in the regular season last year—in Week 4.

Other Monday night games include the Rams vs. the Green Bay Packers, the Steelers vs. the Colts and the Saints vs. the Buccaneers. The Bengals and the Bills will cap the MNF schedule in a game that will have serious playoff implications.

The Sunday Night Football schedule may be even better. Beginning with the Rams and Bills (on Thursday night) to open the season, the slate is loaded with potential postseason previews.

The Buccaneers and Dallas Cowboys will face off in Week 1, the Buccaneers and Chiefs will do battle in Week 4, and the Bengals and Ravens will clash in Week 5. Other games on the SNF schedule include Chiefs-Titans, Chargers-49ers, Bengals-Steelers, Packers-Eagles and Rams-Chargers (subject to late-season flexing).

Even the Thursday Night Football lineup—long a wasteland of subpar games and a way to shoehorn bad teams into prime time—is impressive. It will feature matchups such as Chargers-Chiefs, Bengals-Dolphins, Buccaneers-Ravens, Titans-Packers, Raiders-Rams and Cowboys-Titans.

The league has done a tremendous job of ensuring that fans will get meaningful NFL action multiple days each week, which greatly reduces the risk of oversaturation.

With a great schedule, games that will matter, deep, skilled rosters across the league, loads of quality quarterbacks and a slew of eventual Hall of Famers, the NFL is primed for a potentially historic season. It's one that will feature sustainably satisfying intrigue and create moments and memories that linger for years to come.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady will not play in the team's preseason opener against the Miami Dolphins, head coach Todd Bowles announced Wednesday.

Brady, who turned 45 on Wednesday, has been given extremely limited action during recent preseasons. He attempted just 16 passes in two preseason games a year ago and will likely be on a similarly short schedule this year.

Blaine Gabbert will likely open the Bucs' preseason opener under center, with second-year quarterback Kyle Trask getting a significant amount of work as well. Trask was a 2021 second-round pick and has already gotten more extensive looks in camp than a year ago.

There is a certain level of irony in Brady sitting out against the Dolphins, given the franchise clearly wishes he was their starting quarterback. The NFL stripped Miami of its 2023 first-round pick and 2024 third-round pick for tampering violations related to impermissible contact with Brady and former New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton.

A league investigation found the Dolphins contacted Brady twice while he was under contract with other teams, in 2019 with the New England Patriots and last year while he was with the Bucs. The Dolphins also attempted to bring in Payton despite the Super Bowl-winning coach not yet announcing his retirement.

In other words: Dolphins fans will not even get to watch the man who cost them their 2023 first-round pick in action in the preseason.

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick didn't have much to say Wednesday when asked about the Miami Dolphins getting punished by the NFL on Tuesday for tampering.

When reporters asked Belichick about the situation, he responded: "I'm focused on training camp. That's all in the past."

Per ESPN's Marcel Louis-Jacques, the NFL announced Tuesday that it had stripped the Dolphins of their 2023 first-round pick and 2024 third-round pick, in addition to suspending owner Stephen Ross through Oct. 17 and fining him $1.5 million.

The punishment was the result of an investigation that found the Dolphins tampered with then-Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and then-New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton while they were still under contract with other teams.

As part of the investigation, it was determined that the Dolphins illegally made contact with Brady and Payton's agent at various times from 2019 to 2022.

Ross and Dolphins vice chairman Bruce Beal were found to have had impermissible conversations with Brady and agent Don Yee, who represented both Brady and Payton.

The talks with Brady began while he was still with the Patriots and focused on him potentially signing with the Dolphins as a free agent prior to the 2020 season.

Brady signed with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers instead and led them to a Super Bowl win in his first campaign with the team, but the Dolphins didn't stop there. They reportedly contacted him after the 2021 season to see if he would be interested in becoming a limited partner or executive, although the possibility of him playing for the team was discussed as well.

While Brady retired for about a month this offseason, he was still under contract with the Bucs when the talks occurred, and he ultimately decided to return to play for them in 2022.

The contact with Yee regarding Payton reportedly occurred in January while Payton was still under contract with the Saints. Payton would retire later that month, but Miami's attempts to see if he would be interested in coaching the Dolphins came when he was still a member of the Saints organization.

Brady, who is a seven-time Super Bowl champion and arguably the greatest quarterback and player regardless of position in NFL history, experienced great success against Miami during his time in New England.

He dominated the AFC East as a whole throughout his Patriots tenure and owns a career record of 24-12 against the Dolphins.

Even at 45 years of age, Brady makes the Buccaneers a strong Super Bowl contender with his mere presence.

Meanwhile, the Dolphins are committed to Tua Tagovailoa as their starting quarterback again this season, while Belichick and the Patriots have moved on to 2021 No. 15 overall draft pick Mac Jones under center.

After missing the playoffs in their first season without Brady, the Pats returned to postseason play in 2021, but they are chasing the Buffalo Bills, who have won back-to-back AFC East titles.

Miami is chasing Buffalo as well, and it is possible that it has closed the gap this offseason thanks to its many notable additions, including former Kansas City Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady won't face NFL discipline related to the Miami Dolphins' "impermissible communications" with him from 2019 through earlier this offseason.

NFL spokesperson Brian McCarthy confirmed to ESPN's Jenna Laine that Brady, who was a member of the New England Patriots when the conversations began, isn't under investigation.

The league announced Tuesday the Dolphins were stripped of their 2023 first-round pick and 2024 fourth-round pick after a review of the Brady tampering as well as former head coach Brian Flores' allegations that team owner Stephen Ross pushed the staff to tank in 2019.

Ross was fined $1.5 million and is suspended through Oct. 17. Bruce Beal, the team's vice-chairman, was fined $500,000 and is banned from league meetings throughout the 2022 season.

The NFL said it determined the Dolphins "did not intentionally lose games" in 2019.

What happened between Brady and the Dolphins started to enter the spotlight in April, shortly after the future Hall of Fame quarterback reversed his retirement decision after six weeks to rejoin the Bucs' active roster.

Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reported that Miami reached out to the seven-time Super Bowl champion this offseason to initially join the organization in an executive role while it also attempted to attract longtime New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton.

While Brady would begin in a front-office position, the plan called for the Dolphins to wait for the Buccaneers to find a new quarterback and then work on compensation that would allow Brady to return as leader of the team's offense, per Volin.

Flores' lawsuit featuring the allegations of racial discrimination against the Dolphins and other NFL teams stopped the plan in its tracks, according to Volin.

He also discussed the calls for tanking from the top of the franchise.

"Take a flight, go on vacation, I'll give you $100,000 per loss—those were his exact words," Flores said in reference to Ross on ESPN's Get Up in February. "I deal in truth; I tell the players this, as well. I'm gonna give you good news, bad news—but it's going to be honest."

The NFL didn't deny those types of conversations took place: "On a number of occasions during the 2019 season, Mr. Ross expressed his belief that the Dolphins' position in the upcoming 2020 draft should take priority over the team's win-loss record." However, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell credited Flores for still trying to win games.

"The comments made by Mr. Ross did not affect Coach Flores' commitment to win and the Dolphins competed to win every game," Goodell said. "Coach Flores is to be commended for not allowing any comment about the relative importance of draft position to affect his commitment to win throughout the season."

What the NFL's announcement doesn't reveal is the extent to which Brady and/or Payton expressed interest in joining the Dolphins this offseason, or what type of discussions were had between the quarterback and the team in 2019 or 2020.

All that's stated is the discussions were held between Brady and Beal, who proceeded to keep other members of the Miami front office informed of the details.

Brady, 44, left the Patriots following the 2019 season. He signed with the Bucs in March 2020 and guided the team to a Super Bowl title in his first year with the team.

He's scheduled to become a free agent once again after the 2022 campaign.