Tom Brady participated in a broadcasting panel at Fanatics Fest on Friday, and during the discussion, one NFL quarterback found himself the subject of some unintended shade. As Brady prepares for his debut as a FOX Sports broadcaster, he spoke about the challenges of critiquing players fairly without crossing the line into unwarranted harshness.
Reflecting on his own career, Brady admitted that he was often his own toughest critic, a standard he acknowledged wouldn’t always be appropriate when analyzing others from the broadcast booth.
In a conversation with ESPN’s Stephen A. Smith, Brady used New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones as an example, which quickly became the talk of the event.
“I don’t want to be overly critical, because sometimes, I might not fully understand what went wrong on a particular play,” Brady explained, using a hypothetical scenario to illustrate his point. “Let’s say Daniel Jones throws an interception,” he continued, prompting laughter from the crowd. “I didn’t mean it like that. I wasn’t trying to be critical of Daniel Jones… well, maybe just a little.”
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Jones, who has been under fire for not living up to his hefty contract with the Giants, seemed to be an easy target for Brady’s example. The quarterback has faced mounting pressure and speculation regarding his future, with some suggesting that the Giants were considering alternatives in the NFL Draft.
While Brady’s choice may have been partly influenced by the event’s New York location, it didn’t lessen the sting for Jones.
Brady is set to be on the call for FOX’s Thanksgiving game between the Giants and the Dallas Cowboys.
By then, if Jones is still the Giants’ starting quarterback, he’ll need to be having a solid season to avoid further scrutiny.
