Last week, legendary Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady returned to the team after missing training camp for eleven days. Ever since rumors began circulating as to what he was really up to, he has continued to give vague answers in regard to his whereabouts.
Initially, it was thought that the 45-year-old athlete may have been taking a break from camp due to a possible “The Masked Singer” appearance. Last week, former New England Patriots receiver Julian Edelman curated the rumor during an AMA on Reddit.
“Let me be perfectly clear. Tom Brady is on this season of ‘The Masked Singer,’ ” he shared. Despite this claim, Brady denied these rumors days later. Taking to Twitter, he crushed any hopes that he was filming for the show.
Since then, fans across the United States have been wondering why the NFL star would take a sudden leave of absence from his team. The issue was so severe that media outlets were quick to ask him about his absence during this week’s press conference. Yet, he never felt compelled to give the answer away.
Tom Brady says in a press conference his absence was ‘personal’
“It’s all personal. You know, everyone has different situations they’re dealing with. We all have really unique challenges in our life,” the athlete said, responding to a question about his absence. “I’m 45 years old, man. There’s a lot of sh– going on. So, you’ve just got to try to figure out life the best you can. And, you know, it’s a continuous process.”
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However, many players and coaches alike agree that not many people can get away with an eleven-day absence from training camp. Tampa Bay tight end Cameron Brate shared in an interview with ESPN, “If anybody can get away with the 11-day break during training camp, it’s Tom. He came back, kind of firing on all cylinders again. We’re all excited he’s back and ready to move on.”
Linebacker Lavonte David also acknowledged that training without their star quarterback felt abnormal. Yet, when Brady was ready to come back, he put his entire energy into practice. “His presence is different, just the leader he is, the type of guy he is,” David said. “It’s great to have a guy like that back. He came back ready to take off where he left off.”
Quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen added, “He looked good and fresh. It was good to have him out there. I’ll tell ya that.”
