Tom Brady Addresses Contract Situation, Life Without Gronk, Work-Life Balance And Much More At Patriots Camp
BOSTON (CBS) -- It's been a while since Tom Brady addressed the media, so when he approached reporters after practice on Wednesday morning in Foxboro, the scene very quickly turned into a swarming of the Patriots quarterback.
Considering the wide range of topics covered in Brady's meeting with the media, it might be best to run it all. So, here's everything Brady had to say.
On whether or not he's in "a good place" as he enters the final year of his contract and does not yet have an extension ...
Yeah I've had such a great experience over a lot of years. I appreciate this team and the opportunity it gave me in 2000. I play for a great coach in Coach Belichick. Josh and I have a great working relationship. I love Mr. Kraft and his family. We've had just incredible success. So hopefully we can keep it going.
When asked if he's comfortable going year-to-year with his contract ...
I mean, we're all day-to-day if you think about it. None of us are really promised anything. So, I mean, I'm trying to do the best I can do today and just let those things sort themselves out.
On whether he believes he's "earned" a contract extension ...
Have I earned it? I don't know. That's up for talk show debate. What do you guys think? Should we take a poll? Talk to Mr. Kraft, come on." No, like I said, we've got a great relationship. So. We'll see how it goes.
On his decision to not participate in optional practices in the spring over the past two offseasons ...
The last couple of years it's been really great for me to spend the offseasons with them and really fill up that bucket and give them the time and support and love they need. Because when I'm here doing my thing, my wife's gotta hold down the fort, and she has put a lot on hold over the years to support my dreams. And I feel like it's my responsibility as a husband to do the same for her.
She's happy when I get back to football, because she knows how happy I am. It was a great offseason, but now it's time for football, and I think everyone in our family is prepared for that.
On life without Rob Gronkowski ...
Yeah, I mean, he's as great player. To replace great players, it's not like you just pick another one off the tight end tree. You can't just go out back. You've gotta find guys that come in and want to put the work in and want to try to contribute.And between the guys we have out here now -- which is Ben [Watson] and Matt [LaCosse], Stephen [Anderson], Ryan Izzo, Lance [Kendricks], who we just got -- I mean, those guys are trying to do everything they can do. So, they're all new players, so we've gotta figure out how to get them used to and up to speed to what our expectations are, the level of competition on a daily basis.
On the challenge of facing the Patriots' defense in practice every day ...
We've got a very good defense this year. Those guys are challenging us on every day. It's hard to complete passes on our secondary. I mean, that's just the reality. So it's actually great work for our offense to see how we measure up against a very good defense. Days like today are frustrating for us. We gotta learn from the corrections and try to come out and have a better day tomorrow.
On the focus of his offseason workouts ...
I focused on a lot of things. Every year has its different challenges. I wanted to get a little bigger this year and try to put on a few more pounds and try to absorb the hits a little more, and I worked pretty hard at that.
It was good. I still realized when I got here, I wanted to be a little more fluid and get back to the fluidity that I'm used to, too. There's a difference between getting really dense and obviously being more pliable, and that's really what my focus was.
On working with the still-suspended Josh Gordon this offseason ...
With Josh, it was, there wasn't many opportunities. But he was around and I needed someone to catch. So I've always enjoyed playing with him and I obviously hope everything works out for him, and I'm hoping for the best, certainly.
On getting N'Keal Harry and other new receivers involved in the offense, during Julian Edelman's absence ...
Well, it's, you know, there's a lot of turnover every year, and you deal with the turnover. There's a lot of new guys trying to assimilate to what we've done here for a long time. It's really up to them to get up to speed, and everyone here has gotta help them get there.
On his thoughts as he hits the field for his 20th training camp ...
I have a great time. Football's ... I love the sport. I've loved playing it since I was a kid. It's hard for me to imagine doing anything else in life. I love playing ball, so to still be out here at 41, soon to be 42, it's a pretty good thing for me.
On the challenges of practicing in extreme heat ...
I think this is part of the challenge. Whether it's like this in late July/August, or whether it's freezing cold in December/January, you've just gotta figure out how to deal with it. The elements are a factor; we're not basketball players, we're not hockey players. We deal with the elements. You've gotta deal with the heat. Between a 90-degree day and what we dealt with in Kansas City last year, which was, I don't know, 5 degrees? That's an 85-degree difference. So you've just gotta figure out how to deal with those elements as best you can.
On whether he'll get more days off from practice as he hits his 42nd birthday ...
There hasn't been much talk. There's no schedule or anything like that. Just tryig to take it day-by-day and get out and practice. That's what football players do.
