Tom Brady Officially Returns to Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tom Brady is back. According to the NFL Network, Brady returned to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers facility on Monday for the first time since Aug. 11. The star quarterback will practice with the team Monday afternoon, and this comes 11 days after being excused from training camp for "personal reasons." This also comes after Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowels told reporters there was no firm timeline when it comes to Brady returning to the team. 

"We'll see. We'll talk about it next week," Bowles said Thursday. "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." On Sunday, Bowles said that Brady was expected to return to the team this week but didn't reveal the exact day. No decision has been made about Brady playing Tampa Bay's final preseason game against the Indianapolis Colts. 

Brady is playing in his 23rd NFL season and third with the Buccaneers. In February, Brady announced his retirement from the NFL but then decide to make his return to the league in March. Along with the long absence, Brady missed four days of camp in late July and early August. All of his absences have been approved by the Buccaneers, according to ESPN. In an interview with Variety in July, Brady walked about when he will retire for good. 

"I really don't (know when I'll be done playing)," Brady explained. "I would say it's year to year: Could this be my last year? Absolutely. Could I change my mind? Absolutely. I've realized I don't have five years left. I want to do it my way. I want to give it everything I got and see where I'm at. My body feels really good. I've had a lot of traumatic injuries over the years, but if things go really smoothly and we win, that'd be great."

Brady continued: "I made the decision in the moment, and I felt it was the right thing for the team to let the Bucs know. "You need time to plan. And then through conversations with Bruce [Arians, the team's former coach], Jason [Licht, general manager] and my wife, I felt like I could still play and compete."