There aren’t many people in the world that know the NFL and the NFL environment better than Tom Brady. But a couple of former Detroit Lions players are calling out the future Hall of Famer for a recent take on a podcast that they believe is straight—in their words—“bullshit.”
A clip went viral this weekend from Tom Brady’s appearance on UFC’s “Champion Mindset” podcast. The show is nearly four months old, but this clip shows Brady talking about the practice squad experience and what he learned about some
practice squad players.
Brady’s argument is that most practice squad players fail when they get their actual opportunities because they simply aren’t ready for high-stakes football after practicing on scout teams.
“These guys are like, they weren’t prepared for it. So, whatever we saw in practice against where there was not a lot of pressure, now when they’re put in a situation where there’s an expectation for performance, they’ve never had to personally deal with that and then they fail,” Brady said.
While that’s a reasonable argument to make, it’s the next point that clearly ruffled some feathers.
“What I realized was a lot of guys on those practice squads, they don’t want to be elevated to the roster,” Brady said. “They’re very happy living this life where they could tell their family and friends, which I have no problem with that. Like, there’s no problem. You would just assume, though, that if you’re on the practice squad you’d want to be at the top. But the reality is a lot of guys don’t want the pressure of dealing at the top.”
That’s where a couple of former Lions stepped in, like current Lions assistant coach Dan Skipper. Clearly, he wasn’t happy with this take from Brady, tweeting out on Sunday, “This is an absolute bullshit take on all accounts.”
He would follow up that tweet with a few replies, including one fan who questioned whether he’s actually arguing with Tom Brady.
“Sure am. As someone who experienced both sides there is a lot more that goes into it,” Skipper said.
Skipper spent nine seasons in the NFL, and most of those years were spent on and off the practice squad. He was cut well over a dozen times in his career, yet he finished his career playing in at least 11 games in each of his final four seasons in the league. He would certainly know plenty about life on the practice squad, even though his tale of success is certainly rare amongst those reserve players.
Former Lions fullback Jason Cabinda also vehemently disagreed with Brady, and had a lot more to say.
“lol this is a load of BS,” Cabinda tweeted. “I think I can speak for most if not ALL P-Squad players when I say that making it onto the active roster is your literal daily motivation in every meeting practice and rep day after day. The discrepancies in how you get treated to maybe being on a team who doesn’t allow practice squad players to be on the field during games and having to watch the game up in the suite at the stadium. These are all reminders to improve grind and put yourself in position to make plays on the active roster!!!”
Former Lions defensive lineman Kerry Hyder—who turned a practice squad roster spot into a nine-year NFL career—called Brady out as well:
Now, there are more than likely some practice squad players who fit into Brady’s characterization, but it’s clear he’s struck a nerve with some players who grinded out every practice to realize their NFL hopes and dreams.
