Tom Brady made his return to the Buccaneers on Monday after taking an 11-day hiatus that left most of the NFL wondering what the seven-time Super Bowl champion was up to. After all, it's not common for a player to dip out of training camp and the preseason, and Brady's absence was clouded under the "personal reasons" umbrella.
Was he reconsidering his return to the NFL? Was he filming a "Masked Singer" episode? Suffice to say, speculation ran wild.
As he does get back to the facility and zeroes in on the upcoming regular season, however, there has been some clarity as to what Brady's been up to. According to a recent report from Pro Football Network, spending time with his family was at the heart of Brady's time away from Tampa Bay. That hiatus included a trip to the Bahamas at an exclusive resort where he spent family time with his wife, Gisele Bündchen.
The report also notes that there was no medical emergency that sparked Brady's absence, which had been among the speculated reasons he was away from the club. There was also little concern that Brady would decide to retire again.
It is possible that Brady committed to a Bahamian family vacation back when he was in the midst of his brief retirement and decided to keep those plans intact, despite opting to return to football. That would give credence to the Buccaneers saying that they were aware that the quarterback would be taking this time away from the team over the preseason.
With this "Where's Waldo" style game surrounding Brady now over, the attention can be turned to the 45-year-old's possible final run. The Buccaneers are among the betting favorites to win Super Bowl LVII (currently own the best odds in the NFC) and Brady is at the heart of it. However, he will need to work through an offensive line that has been beaten up throughout the summer, most recently losing guard Aaron Stinnie for the year.
