Tom Brady Is Skipping OTAs And Bill Belichick Refuses To Answer Questions About Him
Bill Belichick, when asked about Tom Brady: “I’m not gonna talk about the people that aren’t here” (via @patriots) pic.twitter.com/YYVxPQzkAp
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) May 22, 2018
Good. I’m fully on board with Bill right now. It is so petty that both Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are skipping OTAs.
Maybe Gronk slightly less due to the fact that he can, and probably will rework his current contract structure on May 24th. My guess is that Gronk will be showing up after his new deal is squared away.
But Tom, what are you doing? For a majority of the lifespan of Brady’s time here in New England all we’ve done is praise this guy for his work ethic. He shows up for every team organized practice no matter if it’s optional or mandatory. He has been the leader of this team and shown every young guy to walk into the organization what it takes to be one of the greats.
Hell, this guy literally made Julian Edelman into the stud that he is today. Just work and grind and you’ll improve your chances to be one of the league’s best greatly.
But now that the pressure is off of him and one of the NFL’s potential future stars is no longer nipping at his heels, he decides to blow these OTAs off. Which, fine, word was originally that he was trying to spend time with his family. Great, whatever. Personally, I’d rather see the guy in the locker room or on the field with the team’s new rookies but sure, family time is a decent excuse. I mean, honestly I still don’t like it, but I’m more apt to accept that.
Now word’s coming out however that Brady AND Gronk are both spending their time at TB12 during OTAs. So much for that family time, huh?
Listen, I love Tom Brady and he’s probably the greatest to ever play the quarterback position. But do I like that he’s woken up one day and decided that the work ethic that he’s shown for years now is suddenly just a thing of the past? No, and honestly, it kind of scares the hell out of me.
We remember what he looked like during the couple of years prior to the arrival of Jimmy Garoppolo, right? He was starting to show some slippage. And maybe that came with the comfort and lack of pressure building with a solid second string backup. Now with Brian Hoyer though, what’s this guy care? What? Is Danny Etling going to take his job? No, and Tommy boy knows that.
Brady skipping OTAs should make you nervous as a Patriots fan. Belichick reluctantly let Jimmy G. go at a STEAL to the 49ers. And now Brady is showing signs of, well, just not showing the same conviction-to use his words- like he had in years past.
I’m starting to worry that Brady is planning on making a shocking exit after this season. And if he does, that should leave a bad taste in the mouths of Patriots fans.
-Nick Quaglia (@NickQuag)