Tom Brady has been a fixture at the New England Patriots’ organized team activities over the years, but that changed in 2018.
Brady is electing to skip OTAs, something that raised some eyebrows given how highly the quarterback has spoken about their importance in the past.
Such a decision led some to wonder if we are seeing the demise of the “Patriot Way.” But for Pats legend Tedy Bruschi, Brady’s absence doesn’t mean anything.
During a segment on ESPN’s NFL Live called “Overreaction Monday,” Bruschi explained why there’s no need to sound the alarms.
“Tom Brady’s still going to be there when he has to be,” Bruschi said. “They’re going to see he’s prepared and ready to go, and I think players will realize this is a player that’s 40-year-old, he plays the quarterback position. There’s certain players that get treated differently, Tom Brady’s one of them.
“It’s been done before where players just (say) ‘mandatory minicamp and training camp I’ll see you there,'” Bruschi continued. “Richard Seymour had times, Ty Law at certain times when I was there. Players that you know, you look around, you notice they’re not there, but you know they’re going to be ready. Tom’s in that category, (Rob) Gronkowski is in that category also.”
Bruschi even slipped in a little joke when discussing the only difference about Brady missing out.
“It’s May, he’s missing some workouts now, and the only thing this is a huge difference for in terms of Tom Brady is that he will not get his offseason award winner parking spot in the parking lot. That shouldn’t be there, he shouldn’t be parking front row anymore I’m putting it out there, put him in the back row coach (Bill) Belichick, that’s the biggest difference right now.”
While speculation obviously will run rampant, Bruschi certainly is as good a source as any when it comes to trying to decipher the inner-workings of the Pats.
