Tom Brady‘s sudden absence from the Tampa Bay Bucs raised a lot of questions over the past few days. The future hall of fame player surprised the football world when it was revealed this week that he was taking a leave of absence from the Buccaneers for at least 10 days.
The exact reason for the hiatus remains unclear, with the Bucs saying it was for non-emergency personal reasons.
While on The Herd this week, Ben Volin of The Boston Globe stated that Brady “looked miserable” at one of the team’s practice sessions.
“I do wonder where his head is at right now,” Volin said. “He was so good at 44, there is no doubt in our minds that if Brady is fully committed he can have a terrific season at 45, but there are definitely signs that his head is not fully into it. I try not to be the body language police, but I was at Bucs practice yesterday and he looked miserable.”
He then went on to list some potential reasons why Brady could be frustrated in Tampa.
“I don’t think he loves the humidity in Tampa; it is very swampy out here every morning. His buddy Gronk has retired, that’s his running mate, that’s his guy, and now he looks all over the field and he’s throwing to Kyle Rudolph, Chris Godwin is banged up and we’re not sure when he’s going to be himself again. Brady’s center [Ryan Jensen] goes down. There are just a lot of things going on with the team, and we also know playing with the Bucs was not his No. 1 wish this year. If he had gotten his way, he’d be running the Dolphins.”
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Volin has covered Brady since 2013 with both the New England Patriots and now the Bucs.
“There are just a lot of things going on with the team, and we also know playing with the Bucs was not his number one wish this year,” Volin added.
The Bucs have been destroyed by several injuries this offseason. Hamstring injuries hobbled receivers Mike Evans and Russell Gage over the last week while offensive lineman Tristan Wirfs and Robert Hainsey had scares with cramps at practice over the past two weeks.
“If he got his way he would be running the Dolphins, and the only reason he went back to the Bucs was because he really had no other options,” Volin told Cowherd.
Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles expects to have Brady back after the team’s second preseason game on Aug. 20.
