Tom Brady’s Buccaneers return still has no ‘definitive date’

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady has been away from the team for the past week due to personal reasons, and it remains unclear when he’ll return.

Head coach Todd Bowles provided an update on the situation on Thursday, saying there’s no “definitive date” for Brady’s return, The Athletic reported.

“We’ll see. We’ll talk about it next week,” Bowles said. “I’m not concerned about it right now. We’re trying to practice against Tennessee and play a game. I said sometime after Tennessee. There’s no definitive date for me. We’ll keep in touch and find out.”

The Bucs originally announced that Brady had stepped away from the team on Aug. 11, noting that the absence was planned prior to it becoming public and that he was expected to return sometime after their second preseason game, which is Saturday versus the Titans.

With Brady unavailable, Tampa Bay’s QB reps have been divided between Blaine Gabbert, Kyle Trask and Ryan Griffin. Gabbert is entering his fourth season with the Buccaneers. Trask was a second-round draft pick of the team in 2021. Griffin has been with Tampa Bay since 2015.

Brady, 45, is entering his 23rd NFL season. Last year, he finished with 5,316 passing yards, 43 passing touchdowns, 12 interceptions and 102.1 quarterback rating, completing 67.5% of his passes. Tampa Bay went 13-4 in 2021, good for first in the NFC South, but lost to the eventual Super Bowl-champion Los Angeles Rams in the NFC divisional round.