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Tom Brady Excused from Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ First Two Preseason Games

In a press conference on Thursday, Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles revealed that Tom Brady will be away from the team to handle “personal things.” Bowles says he expects Brady to return sometime soon after Tampa Bay’s second preseason game on Saturday, August 20.

During his time with reporters, Bowles explained that this is not a surprise. Brady’s absence during this time had been essentially planned in advance.

“Tom has been excused today. This is something we talked about before training camp started. We allotted this time,” Bowles explained. “He wanted to get some chemistry with the guys and go through two weeks of training camp knowing he wasn’t going to play in the first two games. … And we trust him.”

Bowles said this will give backup quarterbacks Blaine Gabbert and Kyle Trask an opportunity to get more experience. The Buccaneers’ first two exhibition games are against the Miami Dolphins and Tennessee Titans.

Buccaneers Will Be Without Tom Brady for Next 10 Days, At Least

Tom Brady’s 23rd NFL season is one that almost never happened. The G.O.A.T. announced his retirement on February 1, then had a change of heart a month later.

At this point in time, we do not know what “personal things” Brady is dealing with, but there will surely be speculation. The seven-time Super Bowl champion is expected to return for Tampa Bay’s third tune-up on Saturday, August 27 against the Indianapolis Colts. The team’s regular-season opener is a Sunday Night Football matchup on September 11 against the Dallas Cowboys.

As Bowles mentioned, Brady was able to get in some quality reps with his receivers over the past two weeks. Most notably, he was working on chemistry with new Tampa Bay target Julio Jones. The veteran signed with the team just before training camp started. Jones gives the Buccaneers another threat to go along with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and others.