Troy Aikman: Tom Brady's NFLPA Advice To Practice Less Was All About Gaining Advantage Over Opponents
BOSTON (CBS) -- Tom Brady's professional career was born and raised in a culture of "No Days Off" in New England. He carried that forward in Tampa, working out with teammates at times when such things weren't allowed, getting kicked off public spaces during the coronavirus pandemic, and committing a little accidental breaking and entering.
So when Brady addressed the NFLPA this spring and told his fellow players that that they should be doing less training and preparation in the offseason, it certainly felt a little out of character.
Hall of Fame QB and national color commentator Troy Aikman felt the same way, as he recently said he was "shocked" to see that message from Brady. That was ... until he realized what Brady was doing.
"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," Aikman said on The Ringer's "Flying Coach" podcast, per CBS Sports. "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 in his comments."
The fact that a soon-to-be-44-year-old Brady was coming off offseason knee surgery -- after the longest possible season, thanks to that pesky Super Bowl in February -- yet still made sure to work with teammates in both formal and informal settings this offseason made it obvious that Brady doesn't actually believe players should work out and practice less in the spring. Unless they play for other teams.