Tom Brady Says the NFL Has ‘Dumbed the Game Down’ to Help Rookie QBs Play Immediately

Scott Polacek@@ScottPolacekFeatured Columnist IVAugust 20, 2024

Roy Rochlin/Getty Images for Fanatics

Tom Brady believes quarterback development has taken a step back in the NFL.

“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,” he said during a discussion with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith (40-minute mark) that ran on Monday.

“It used to be thought of at a higher level. 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. So they’re just going to teach them where they’re at.”

Brady started his NFL career as Drew Bledsoe’s backup with the New England Patriots and didn’t become the full-time starter until his second season after Bledsoe suffered an injury.

The all-time great also stayed at Michigan instead of transferring or leaving early for the NFL, and he credited some of his development with that route as well.

“Five years (at Michigan), I got to learn how to dropback pass, to read defenses, to read coverages, to be coached,” he said. “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.”

The path certainly worked for Brady, as he ended up winning seven Super Bowls and three MVPs during arguably the best career in league history. But he was also a sixth-round draft pick who was never initially expected to rescue a franchise like many of the early picks are in today’s game.

Someone like Caleb Williams or Jayden Daniels doesn’t have the luxury of sitting behind a four-time Pro Bowler like Bledsoe because the Chicago Bears and Washington Commanders wouldn’t be taking them with the Nos. 1 and 2 picks if they had a steady quarterback situation.

Learning how to adjust to the NFL may require a simplifying of the playbook, at least at first, for rookies who are expected to start right away.

Still, Brady speaks from experience and will surely bring similar perspectives to the booth this season as he begins his career in media.