Speculation has been all over the place when it comes to theories regarding NFL star Tom Brady and his whereabouts during an 11-day hiatus from football.
During the mysterious absence, his team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, held multiple practices and two preseason games, both of which were losses.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion officially returned for his team’s practice on Monday amid rumors that he and wife Gisele Bundchen might be headed for divorce.
League sources suggested that the couple was away for a vacation at a luxury resort, possibly strengthening their relationship ahead of the NFL season.
However, other rumors suggested that Brady was away for an extended break from football to participate in the popular singing competition show, The Masked Singer.
Upon his return for the Buccaneers’ practice, Brady has also been active on social media and recently responded to the speculation.
Brady responds to Masked Singer rumors
Hours after he made headlines for officially returning to practice with his team, Tom Brady issued a response regarding those swirling rumors about The Masked Singer.
“Wasn’t on the masked singer last week. Was wearing a mask, though,” Brady tweeted.
Along with that simple statement, he retweeted a video clip of an individual riding a motorcycle down the street and performing several dangerous wheelies.
The tweet promoted his Brady underwear brand, which the star quarterback mentioned is coming back “in all sizes and colors” on Wednesday, August 23.
Rumors about Brady and Gisele also popped up
With Tom Brady disappearing from the public eye as the NFL preseason was underway, reports arrived he was away from the team for personal reasons.
His leave kept him out of several practices and two preseason games. Starting players generally don’t get much time in the preseason games, but starting quarterbacks occasionally take a few snaps and run some plays with the team.
According to PopCulture, with Brady away from the team for an extended time, there was speculation of an impending divorce between him and his wife, Gisele Bundchen.
Those rumors were sparked by an August Life & Style magazine cover featuring a “Tom & Gisele Marriage in Crisis!” headline. The cover also suggested they were fighting over football and family.
Brady and Gisele have been married since 2009 and have two children, Benjamin and Vivian. Tom also has another son with ex-girlfriend Bridget Moynahan, John Edward Thomas Moynahan, who goes by Jack.
Per Pro Football Network, league sources suggested Brady was at an exclusive resort in the Bahamas for family time with Gisele. That’s still unconfirmed as of this report.
Bucs coach commented on Brady’s absence
When speaking to the media, Tampa Bay Bucs head coach Todd Bowles indicated that the star QB’s absence from the team was planned ahead of training camp.
“Knowing he wasn’t going to play the first two games, he didn’t want to take away reps from Blaine and Kyle, as well as Griff, as far as going into these next two games. It’s something that he needs to handle. We trust him. We talked about it – it was scheduled way before training camp, and he will not be here until after Tennessee,” Bowles said.
Brady has since shown up and reportedly looked sharp in practice, as he was ready to go and “kinda firing on all cylinders again.”
Tampa Bay has their final preseason game on Saturday when they play an away game against the Indianapolis Colts. They’ll start the regular season visiting the Dallas Cowboys for a Sunday Night Football game on September 11.
Twitter video shared theory about Brady on Masked Singer
While the reason for Tom Brady’s 11-day absence during the NFL preseason is still unknown, the initial theory about his Masked Singer involvement also seemed to make good sense.
A tweet arrived via @MBFantasyLife this past week, which included a video explaining a theory that Brady was away from football to be a contestant in the Fox competition show.
The video above elaborates upon the theory of Brady’s participation in the show, mentioning Fox NFL commentator Terry Bradshaw has been in the show before.
Brady’s still playing football for the Tampa Bay Bucs but signed a lucrative deal with Fox this past May to become an NFL analyst. That happened after his initial “retirement” from the league. However, he’s since unretired and returned for another season with the Bucs.
It’s mentioned in the video above that some of Brady’s former teammates suited up in crazy costumes to appear on The Masked Singer. They include former Bucs stars Antonio Brown and Brady’s good friend, Rob Gronkowski.
Along with that, TMZ reported that The Masked Singer is currently filming episodes for the upcoming season. While Brady denied the rumors of his involvement in his recent tweet, it’s always possible he’s trying to throw people off ahead of a surprise appearance.
The Masked Singer Season 8 premieres on Wednesday, September 21 at 8/7c on FOX.