Nearly three months ago, when Tom Brady left the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the middle of training camp — to “deal with some personal things,” according to head coach Todd Bowles — a quest to unravel the sudden departure began. Nobody had ever seen an absence like this from a player of Brady’s stature, which was framed in vague terms.
He was taking time off. It was personal. The team was OK with it. End of story.
Of course, it wasn't the end of the story. There was more to come.