Why Tom Brady Is Taking Time Away From Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Why Tom Brady Is Taking Time Away From Tampa Bay Buccaneers
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Tom Brady is stepping away from the NFL, temporarily.

After the NFL quarterback missed the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' practice on Aug. 11, coach Todd Bowles addressed Brady's training camp absence while speaking to reporters.

"Tom has been excused today. He'll be taking—he'll be back somewhere around after Tennessee," Bowles said, per NBC Sports, referring to the team's second preseason game on Aug. 20. "He's going to deal with some personal things."

"This is something we talked about before training camp started," he continued. "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] as far as going into these next two games. And it's something he needs to handle."

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Brady, 45, has not publicly addressed his temporary absence from his NFL team. E! News has reached out to his rep for comment and has not heard back.

"We trust him," coach Bowles told reporters. "We talked about it. It was scheduled way before training camp and he will not be here until after Tennessee."

Tom Brady
Julio Aguilar/Getty Images

Back in February, Brady—who shares kids Benjamin, 12, and Vivian, 9, with wife Gisele Bündchen, and son John, 14, with ex Bridget Moynahanannounced his retirement from football. However, a little over a month later, the athlete revealed that he'd had a change of heart.

As Brady wrote on Instagram at the time, "I have realized my place is still on the field and not in the stands. That time will come. But it's not now. I love my teammates, and I love my supportive family. Without them, none of this is possible."