Tom Brady took 11 days off, and returned sounding like a new person

If anyone in NFL history has earned an absence from training camp and preseason, it’s Tom Brady. Even coming up with something Brady has left to learn is a labored task in itself. Sure, you could say he needs to gel with new teammates — but that’s really it. At this point, it’s on everyone else to get on Brady’s wavelength, not the other way around.

When Brady returned and stepped in front of the camera for the first time in 11 days, it’s like he was a new person.

Brady, who so often carefully protects his public image and speaks in platitudes, was unguarded — honest about just having other things going on in his life.

“It’s all personal. Everyone’s got different situations they’re dealing with, so we all have really unique challenges. I’m 45 years old, man. There’s a lot of shit going on. You just got to figure out life the best you can. It’s a continuous process.”

Honestly, it’s nice to see Brady sound like this. He’s a middle-aged dude with a wife, and kids. It’s okay that he has shit going on. It’s more worrying when athletes like this brush off their family life entirely and put their work life above everything else. Everyone is thinking more about their work/life balance these days and re-evaluating what’s important to them. It’s probably additionally tough for Brady, who has been away for so much of the last 20+ years, and knows that when he hangs it up he’s walking immediately into broadcasting where he’ll keep being around football for years to come.

I hope this is an opportunity to hear more candidly from Brady. People have speculated about his life for years, because when Brady does talk publicly it’s always about football, and trying to satiate everyone all at once, without making waves. In a sport of robots it’s always nice to have someone acting more human.

Of course, there’s also the wild theory that he’s been away from football to film The Masked Singer, which seems to have a little bit of credence from some clips that have been leaking online. So maybe trying to push though a major role in a reality show is the “shit” Brady is dealing with too.

The truth is, we’ll likely never get an answer as why Brady was away from the Buccaneers unless he pulls off a mask in a few weeks and reveals he was singing on the show. We’re also not owed an explanation, it’s his business — but that said, I hope Tom keeps being more honest with fans and the media. Football is better for it.