The New England Patriots started the quest for their sixth Super Bowl championship on Monday with the first day of voluntary offseason workouts. However, Tom Brady missed the workouts because he was still on vacation.

According to Jeff Howe of The Boston Globe, the Patriots opened their offseason workouts, without Tom Brady and Malcolm Butler, on Monday at Gillette Stadium. It will be a nine-week workout program but attendance is voluntary.

The only required workout dates for Tom Brady and the entire Patriots squad is on June 6 to 8 that is basically a mini-training camp. The Patriots are known for having a high attendance in the voluntary workouts with defensive tackle Alan Birch as the only one who rarely participates in it.

Malcolm Butler cannot participate in the training workouts unless he signs his tender. He is rumored to be signing an offer sheet from a different team at the end of the week but the Patriots can match it. Howe noted that it will be surprising to see Butler decline to sign his tender.

On the other hand, Tom Brady was not present on the first day of workouts because he was still on vacation, per Tom Curran of CSN New England. He returned on Tuesday to take part in the offseason workouts. At the age of 39 years old, Brady is still atop of his game.

The Patriots' offseason workouts are divided into three stages with each stage schedule for just four hours per and four days per week. Contact drills and full pads are banned during the offseason workouts but Tom Brady and the rest of the Patriots have a lot of work to do.

The first stage of the workout is for two weeks and it's all about strength and conditioning. The second stage, on the other hand, is focused on football drills but no helmets are allowed since there will be no contact between the offense and defense.

Finally, the third stage of the workouts spans for four weeks that involves organized team activities and the mandatory three-day training camp. Tom Brady and the Patriots will get to start their summer after June 15.

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