Troy Aikman was surprised to see Tom Brady speak out so strongly about one of the NFL’s most polarizing issues.
Brady, in a players-only NFLPA conference call back in May, reportedly implored his colleagues to not attend their respective team’s voluntary OTAs. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback, per reports, noted the NFL is the only professional sports league that requests so much from its athletes physically in the offseason.
These reported remarks initially took Aikman aback, but the Dallas Cowboys legend quickly realized they were a product of Brady’s genius.
“I was surprised to hear Tom Brady say the players need more time off. He was very vocal. It shocked me, because I know Tom well,” Aikman said on the “Flying Coach with Sean McVay and Peter Schrager” podcast, as transcribed by The Spun. “And then I realized, that’s the greatness of Tom Brady, because I can assure you, he’s not taking those days off, and that team is not taking those days off. And so he views it as a total competitive advantage. If teams are practicing less, and he’s practicing more, that’s going to give him a leg up on the competition, and I think that was really the whole motivation for those comments.”
It’s anyone’s guess whether Brady was angling for a competitive edge or looking out for his peers when he reportedly made those comments. Regardless, OTA formats probably could use a reevaluation.
