Tom Brady says NFL has "dumbed the game down" to let rookie quarterbacks play immediately
FOXBORO -- There is a strong push in New England to get Drake Maye on the field as soon as possible. But Tom Brady is telling everyone to hit the brakes when it comes to rookie quarterbacks in the NFL.
NFL teams have been starting rookie quarterbacks right out of the gate in recent seasons, and we'll see it again in 2024 with top picks Caleb Williams and Jayden Daniels set to start for the Bears and Commanders, respectively. Maye will likely begin his rookie season behind veteran Jacoby Brissett on the Patriots' quarterback depth chart, but the third overall pick has made a strong push during the last week of training camp.
But Tom Brady knows a thing or 12 about playing quarterback, and he doesn't believe that throwing rookies right into the game is in anyone's best interest. Brady didn't play his first season in the league and learned behind Pro Bowler Drew Bledsoe, whom he replaced in Year 2 after the veteran suffered a devastating injury early in the 2001 season.
Brady believes that quarterback development in the NFL has taken a step back, in large part due to the push to get rookies on the field as quickly as possible.
"I think it's just a tragedy that we're forcing these rookies to play early, but the reality is the only reason why we are is because we've dumbed the game down, which has allowed them to play," Brady said during a lengthy chat with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on Monday.
NFL coaching staffs are on such a short leash now that they feel pressure to win -- or at least show signs of winning -- right away. Add in that teams can take advantage of the salary cap when its quarterback is on a rookie deal, and there are a lot of incentive to get quarterbacks on the field as soon as possible.
But Brady says there is a lot for quarterbacks to learn as they break into the league, and teams aren't giving them enough time to do so. Some teams aren't even trying, in Brady's eyes.
"We used to spend hours and hours in the offseason, in training camp, trying to be a little bit better the next year. But I think what happens is it discourages the coaches from going to deep levels, because they realize the players don't have the opportunity to go to a deep level," explained Brady. "So they're just going to teach them where they're at."
The seven-time Super Bowl champ also said that his five years at Michigan taught him some important and valuable lessons that he carried over to the next level. Those too are starting to become absent in today's game.
"For five years, I got to learn how to drop back pass, to read defenses, to read coverages, to be coached," Brady said of his career with the Wolverines. "To deal with winning games, to deal with playing in Columbus, Ohio, in front of 110,000 people. I had to learn from being seventh QB on the depth chart to moving up to third to ultimately being a starter. I had to learn all those things in college, that was development."
Brady believes the changes to the college landscape have also changed how quarterbacks are being developed. The transfer rules and NIL deals are greatly impacting how schools and players are approaching the game.
"There used to be college programs," said Brady. "Now, there are college teams. You're no longer learning a program, you're learning a playbook."
As a sixth-round pick with little expectations, Brady took a unique path to his Hall of Fame career. He was able to learn the ways of the NFL before being called upon to play, which is not a luxury that quarterbacks taken early in the first round are usually afforded.
But if teams had a little more patience with players they've drafted to play the most important position on the field, Brady believes that everyone -- including the NFL itself -- would be much better off in the end.