Brady has been away from the team since Aug. 11 to deal with what was described as “personal matters.” Bowles said it was something that was agreed upon weeks ago and that the team has supported Brady, who has kept in touch with the coaching staff during his absence. Bowles said a decision has not yet been made on whether Brady will see action in this week’s third and final preseason game at the Indianapolis Colts. “Not yet. We’ll see how practice goes and make those decisions at the end of the week,” Bowles said.
1 Related In the past, teams used the third preseason game as a dress rehearsal for the rookies, although the importance of the preseason as a whole has decreased significantly in recent years, mostly because coaches see the risk of injuries as too great and want to give back up as much game time as possible. The Buccaneers’ focus this preseason has been to give second baseman Kyle Trask as many reps as possible. Several of the Bucs’ key players and high-profile players have yet to participate in the preseason this year due to injury, the need to evaluate depth or unnecessary risk. Those players include wide receivers Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Julio Jones, Russell Gage, right tackle Tristan Wirfs, left tackle Donovan Smith, right guard Zach Mason, outside linebacker Zach Barrett, inside linebacker Lavonte David and Devin White, cornerback Carlton Davis III and safety Antoine Winfield Jr. Brady has taken days off before, but this is the first time he has taken significant time away from the team during training camp or the preseason in 23 years. He missed OTAs while with the New England Patriots in 2018 to spend more time with his family, but those workouts are optional and take place in the spring, well before the regular season begins. All of Brady’s absences with the Bucs through 2022 have been approved by the team, though it’s highly unusual for NFL teams to provide that kind of flexibility. Brady is in a tough spot. Not only is Pro Bowl center Ryan Jensen out for a significant amount of time with a knee injury, but the Bucs lost left guard Aaron Stinnie, who was competing for a starting role, to a torn ACL/MCL on Saturday night. Evans is also still nursing a hamstring injury and Godwin is still recovering from an ACL injury, though he’s making progress and is now participating in some 7-on-7 work.
