Tom Brady is denying he left Bucs camp to be a contestant on the newest season of "The Masked Singer," but the show is definitely leaning in to the possibility he DID exactly that!!!
Check out this clip from the upcoming season TMZ Sports obtained ... it shows Ken Jeong, a judge on the show, guessing that TB12 is one of the new undercover, crooning celebs this year.
In the footage, you can see Jeong trying to guess who's in the Hummingbird costume. The comedian says the look and performance is "screaming out like a football legend."
Initially, he believes it could be Peyton Manning, but then he moves on to a different theory -- "I think this could be the greatest of all time."
Tom Brady Out Of Bucs Training Camp Dealing With 'Personal Issue'
Ken even adds ... "He just got fined for not showing up to training camp because he is here on 'The Masked Singer'. This is seven-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady!"
Of course, the clip cuts off before we see who the contestant actually is ... we're not THAT good. Season 8 officially wrapped taping on Aug. 20, but the show won't start airing until Sept. 21 -- and Fox notoriously keeps all the celeb IDs under lock and key.
For what it's worth, Tom just happened to show up at Bucs camp on Aug. 22 ... 2 days after taping ended.
Brady, though, has insisted it ain't him ... saying on his Twitter page Monday that despite disappearing from Bucs training camp for 11 days earlier this month, "[I] wasn’t on the masked singer last week."
The first rule of the show is ya don't talk about the show ... so could it really be him?!
Stay tuned ...