Tom Brady’s highly anticipated return is upon us.
The Buccaneers quarterback, who stepped away from the team earlier this month to tend to personal matters, returned to the team’s facility on Monday and is slated to practice later in the day, according to ESPN’s Jenna Laine.
Although there’s been much speculation about Brady’s whereabouts — including a wild theory about his possible participation in Fox’s “The Masked Singer” — Pro Football Network reported Sunday that the seven-time Super Bowl champ enjoyed a Bahamian getaway at an exclusive resort “primarily for family time with his wife, Gisele Bündchen.”
In the days leading up to Brady’s return, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport elaborated on the quarterback’s absence, claiming it pertained to his desire for a “work-life balance.”
“No one is worried, he’s fine,” Rapoport said during a recent appearance on “The Pat McAfee Show.”
“To my knowledge, it is not a medical emergency related to him or I believe anyone close to him. I was told everything is OK. The best description I got about this is that it’s important to find a work-life balance.”
Todd Bowles, the Buccaneers’ first-year head coach, previously told reporters that Brady was expected to be back in action following Tampa Bay’s preseason game against the Tennessee Titans, which took place on Saturday. He also made it clear the quarterback’s absence never came as a surprise to team brass.
“This is something we talked about before training camp started,” Bowles said earlier this month.
Brady, who turned 45 on Aug. 3, is entering his 23rd season in the league after ending his 40-day retirement in March. Back in January, the quarterback expressed how he wanted to spend more time with his loved ones.
“My wife is my biggest supporter,” Brady said of Bündchen, 42, on his SiriusXM podcast, “Let’s Go!” “It pains her to see me get hit out there, and she deserves what she needs from me as a husband and my kids deserve what they need from me as a dad. I’m gonna spend some time with them and give them what they need, because they’ve really been giving me what I need the last six months — to do what I need to do and I said this a few years ago. It’s what relationships are all about. It’s not always about what I want. It’s about what we want as a family. And I’m gonna spend a lot of time with them and figure out in the future what’s next.”
Brady and Bündchen have two children together: son Benjamin, 12, and daughter Vivian, 9. The quarterback is also a dad to 15-year-old son Jack, whom he shares with ex Bridget Moynahan.
