TAMPA — A few minutes before 1 p.m. Monday, Tom Brady walked out of AdventHealth Training Center wearing his orange No. 12 practice jersey, red shorts and a ball cap.

It had been 11 days since Brady had been with the Bucs, having left training camp for what the team called “personal reasons” while missing preseason games against the Dolphins and Titans.

Then Brady pulled on a helmet, fastened his chin strap and began throwing the football. Unofficially, he didn’t miss a target, and there were only a few drops.

Suddenly, the Bucs’ patchwork offensive linemen began blocking better. Receivers ran better routes. Offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich called better plays.

“Pretty much as expected,” tight end Cameron Brate said. “Wherever Tom was, he was working out still and getting good reps in. Yeah, if anyone can get away with the 11-day break during training camp, it’s Tom. He came back kind of firing on all cylinders (Monday). Yeah, we’re all excited he’s back and ready to move on.”

Brady may be ready to move on, as well. He didn’t address the media Monday, and there has been no reason given for his absence.

Whatever caused him to miss practice – speculation has run the gamut from family issues to taping an episode of “The Masked Singer” – the team is leaving it up to Brady to disclose it.

Players said they immediately got a lift from Brady returning to football.

“Obviously, his presence is one of a kind,” linebacker Lavonte David said. “He’s Tom Brady, so when he’s not out there, you kind of know. But after the first couple of days or whatever went by, we just went on back to our regularly scheduled program, everybody going out there to work. Blaine (Gabbert) stepped in on that side as a leader, and I felt like he did a great job filling in for the time being.”

Without Brady, quarterbacks Gabbert and Kyle Trask got a lot of the repetitions in practice and the games.

While they both played well for the most part, the Bucs offense didn’t run as smoothly without Brady and his more than two decades of experience. The Bucs scored only three points in a loss to the Titans Saturday.

PANTHERS: Baker Mayfield will start Carolina’s Sept. 11 regular-season opener against his former team, the Cleveland Browns.

Panthers Coach Matt Rhule made the announcement on the team’s website.

Mayfield, acquired in a trade with the Browns earlier this offseason, beat out incumbent starter Sam Darnold for the job. The news was expected as Mayfield had outperformed Darnold during most of training camp.

“When we started this process, we were looking at three things,” Rhule said. “Number one, mastery of the offense, number two, situational football excellence, and number three, moving the ball and getting guys involved. That’s been our focus all along. Baker has made a lot of improvement, a lot of growth in all three areas in a short amount of time.”

Both Mayfield and Darnold are expected to play in the team’s preseason finale on Friday night against the Buffalo Bills. Neither Mayfield nor Darnold has seen much action in the preseason and both were held out of last week’s game against the New England Patriots.

Rhule originally said the Panthers would keep three quarterbacks on the roster, but that was before rookie third-round draft pick Matt Corral suffered a Lisfranc ligament tear in his foot.

“All along, we’ve felt like we need to have a really strong quarterback room, and have every quarterback ready to play,” Rhule said. “The reality of this league is most teams will play multiple quarterbacks. Sam has worked incredibly hard, played really well for us during training camp, and will be ready to go if and when it’s needed.”

VIKINGS-RAIDERS TRADE: After another inconsistent preseason performance, Minnesota added another quarterback to the competition to be the backup to Kirk Cousins.

Minnesota acquired backup quarterback Nick Mullens from the Las Vegas Raiders for a conditional 2024 seventh-round draft pick.

The Vikings said the deal will be finalized as soon as Mullens passes a physical. The Raiders will get the 2024 pick only if Mullens is on the active roster for at least one game this season.

Mullens will compete with second-year player Kellen Mond and veteran Sean Mannion, who both struggled to move the ball much against San Francisco in Saturday’s second preseason game.

BILLS: With a nickname like “Punt God,” Matt Araiza has all but assured himself a spot on Buffalo’s roster.

The Bills cleared the way for the rookie sixth-round pick with the booming left leg out of San Diego State to take over the punting duties this season after releasing returning veteran Matt Haack on Monday. Buffalo also cut veteran receiver Tavon Austin, who has failed to meet expectations since being selected by the Rams in the first round of the 2013 draft.

GIANTS: Rookie edge rusher Kayvon Thibodeaux sprained the MCL in his right knee in the preseason victory over the defending AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals.

Coach Brian Daboll said that No. 5 overall pick in the draft was being listed as day to day and he hopes to have him back on the field as soon as possible.

It’s too early to say whether Thibodeaux will be ready for the season opener on Sept. 11 in Tennessee against the Titans.

Daboll also got bad news on fellow rookie linebacker Darrian Beavers, the team’s sixth-round pick. The Cincinnati product tore the ACL in his left knee in the third quarter of the 25-22 win Sunday night at MetLife Stadium and he will not play this season.

CHIEFS: Pro Bowl defensive tackle Chris Jones and wide receiver Mecole Hardman returned to practice with Kansas City, when they moved their training camp base from Missouri Western back to their own facility.

Jones had been dealing with a back injury and Hardman had been out with a sore groin.