Tom Brady under attack: NFL players lash out at retired QB for his debatable take on practice squad players

It’s not often that you hear Tom Brady get called out on social media by current and former NFL players, but that’s exactly what happened over the weekend after the retired quarterback gave his opinion on practice squad players. 

During an appearance on the “Champion Mindset” podcast, Brady mentioned that practice squad players rarely end up having a successful career in the NFL because they just don’t have what it takes to succeed.  

“Practice squad players are important because if anybody on the active roster gets hurt, they can get elevated to the squad,” Brady mentioned. 

OK, that doesn’t sound so bad. Brady even pointed out that some practice squad players impressed him with their performance in practice. 

“There was times where these 15 guys would do really well in practice and they’d be practicing and — I saw this happen a lot — these scout team receivers would come in and practice with the scout team and they’d do really well,” Brady mentioned. “And I’d be watching and I’m like, ‘Man, we got to get that guy. Let’s get him up on offense. He’s making a lot of plays. That’s Darrelle Revis he’s getting open on. We got to do something.'”

So what happens once the practice squad star gets moved to the active roster? That’s where things start to fall apart, according to Brady. 

“Then all of a sudden, we’re like, ‘Hey man, you’re doing really well, you got to come over here and deal with the pressure of succeeding now that you have expectation.’ And these guys are like, they weren’t prepared for it,” Brady mentioned. “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.” 

The seven-time Super Bowl winner added that many practice squad players are content to remain there so that they can tell people they’re in the NFL. 

“And then what I realized was, a lot of guys on those practice squads, they don’t want to be elevated to the roster,” Brady mentioned. “”They’re very happy living this life where they could tell their family and friends, which I have no problem with that… But the reality is a lot of guys don’t want the pressure of dealing with top.”

Brady is essentially saying that practice squad players don’t have what it takes to survive in the NFL and that hot take started a firestorm on social media. 

How players responded to Brady’s take

As you can imagine, there were many NFL players — both former and current — who didn’t agree with Brady’s take, and they were glad to call out the retired quarterback on social media. Lions offensive lineman Dan Skipper was probably the most vocal, calling Brady’s opinion absolute bullshit.’

Skipper, who entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent, has spent time on six practice squads. In 2019, he was actually on the Patriots’ practice squad, so he was teammates with Brady. 

“As someone who experienced both sides, there is a lot more that goes into it,” Skipper wrote. 

The 31-year-old Skipper has played in 29 games with the Lions over the past two seasons, including 10 starts. 

Broncos receiver Lil’Jordan Humphrey also seemed to take issue with Brady’s opinion on practice squad players. 

Former NFL offensive lineman Geoff Schwartz called Brady’s opinion nonsense. 

“I remember only a handful of guys who truly did not want to play in a game,” Schwartz wrote on social media. “They were all active squad guys. The PS guys can’t wait to get called up. And Brady is right in saying there are players who can’t handle the pressure and do fold. But it’s not because they don’t want to be on the field.”

The most interesting response might have come from Danny Woodhead. Not only did the former NFL running back spend time on the practice squad before putting together a successful career, but he was also teammates with Brady for three seasons in New England (2010-12). 

“Last thing I wanted to do was stay where I was as a psquad guy,” Woodhead wrote after sending out the emoji. “Made sure I knew every position I could possibly play. Like 6 weeks in got elevated to the active roster as a WR. Position I never played.”

Woodhead is one of two prominent former practice squad players with whom Brady once played. Former Patriots receiver Danny Amendola, who spent five seasons with Brady in New England, also started his career on the practice squad. Unfortunately, Amendola has yet to weigh in on Brady’s take. 

One of the most prominent former players to disagree with Brady was three-time Pro Bowler Seth Joyner, who pointed out that it’s not just practice-squad players who struggled, because there have also been plenty of first-round picks who haven’t been able to handle the pressure of the NFL. 

If Brady hasn’t been on social media this weekend, he’s probably going to wonder how his hot take on practice squad players went viral. His interview on the “Champion Mindset” podcast actually took place back in February. Still, he’s facing the heat now because a social media account with nearly two million followers shared the practice squad clip on X over the weekend. From there, the internet did its thing, and now, dozens of current and former players have weighed in on Brady’s take. 

With the NFL about to hit the dead part of the offseason in the next few weeks, Brady has definitely given players something to talk about while they’re on break.