Tom Brady is skipping voluntary workout sessions with the New England Patriots for the second year in a row.
And one former Patriot likes that.
Rodney Harrison joined NBC Sports Boston’s “Quick Slants Podcast” to talk about his time with the Pats and about the current status of the team, and the conversation naturally shifted over to Brady.
“I think it’s great,” Harrison said when asked about Brady not working out with the team, as transcribed by NBC Sports Boston. “I think at this point in time in his career, after all the years and all the levels of commitment that he’s shown that if he needs a break and he needs to spend his valuable time (with his family, he should).
“Tom Brady can’t be who Tom Brady is if he’s not at peace with himself. If he’s not spending time with his family, if he’s not making them breakfast, if he’s not waking up and taking them to the beach (he’s losing something) that’s very, very special and those are the things as an older player that you really value because you know you give up so much during the season.”
Brady skipping out on OTAs was turned into a massive story last year, and Brady took some pride in proving those who were critical of that decision wrong as he went on to win a sixth Super Bowl.
“Everybody knows Tom Brady, his work ethic, his level of commitment and you know when he’s not there he’s working his ass off so I think it’s fine,” said Harrison. “I think it’s really smart. When you come into football training camp you gotta forget about wife and kids … at the end of the day, you’re down there taking care of business. And if you put your time in as a veteran player at home, you’ll feel much better about yourself doing that.
“You gotta make sure that you clear the distractions so you can go to work and just be you,” he added. “And that’s why I applaud tom Brady because he needs this time with his family.”
While Brady does spend a good amount of time on social media these days, taking on dares from Jeopardy contestants and jabbing with Julian Edelman on Instagram, he’s clearly staying on top of his game while spending a ton of time with his family.
So who are we judge? The man has won just about everything. Just let him do what he wants at this point.
