How Tom Brady Reportedly Performed During His First Practice Back With the Buccaneers

The 45-year-old returned from a 11-day training camp absence on Monday.
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Tom Brady returned to the Buccaneers on Monday after an 11-day absence in the middle of the team’s training camp. The somewhat surprising hiatus led rumors to run rampant, including one that implied the 45-year-old quarterback may have been away from practice to be a contestant on the TV show The Masked Singer.

While he may not have been making a foray into the world of singing competition shows, Brady reportedly came back to practice and didn’t skip a beat at doing what he does best: play football.

According to Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, the Buccaneers had one of their best practices of the offseason with Brady back under center. A member of the organization told Stroud that the seven-time Super Bowl champion “was on fire” during the practice, even though he’d been away from the team since Aug. 11.

Buccaneers tight end Cameron Brate echoed that sentiment, saying after Monday’s practice that Brady came back to practice “firing on all cylinders.”

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“Pretty much as expected,” Brate said, per Stroud. “Wherever Tom was, he was working out still and getting good reps in. Yeah, if anyone can get away with the 11-day break during training camp, it’s Tom. He came back kind of firing on all cylinders (Monday). Yeah, we’re all excited he’s back and ready to move on.”

Brady did not speak with the media after the workout so the reason for his absence is still unknown. Coach Todd Bowles has yet to decide whether Brady will play in Tampa Bay’s final preseason game against Indianapolis.

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Zach Koons
ZACH KOONS

Zach Koons is a programming editor at Sports Illustrated who frequently writes about Formula One. He joined SI as a breaking/trending news writer in February 2022 before joining the programming team in 2023. Koons previously worked at The Spun and interned for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He currently hosts the "Bleav in Northwestern" podcast and received a bachelor's in journalism from Northwestern University.