On Thursday, Fox’s Tom Brady criticized former Giants quarterback Daniel Jones for asking to be launched, after he was benched for enterprise causes.
Brady prefaced his feedback by saying this: “I don’t know the way that complete scenario went down. . . .”
So we did the legwork for him. Here’s what we realized, per a supply with information of the occasions.
For starters, the Giants initially wished Jones to remain house, with pay. That’s what the Raiders did two years in the past, once they benched quarterback Derek Carr to keep away from a $40 million assure in 2023. Carr agreed.
The participant needs to be prepared to do it; he can’t be locked out. The rule dates again to Steve McNair’s grievance in opposition to the Titans in 2006. After they drafted Vince Young, the Titans didn’t need McNair to get injured whereas on the premises, triggering his in any other case non-guaranteed wage. McNair and the NFL Players Association fought it, they gained, they usually set a precedent that groups can not maintain a participant from displaying up for work for non-disciplinary causes.
There’s nothing flawed with the Giants wanting Jones to remain house. It’s the pure extension of their determination to take him out of the lineup. But the request for Jones to remain house laid the muse for Jones finally asking to be launched.
His first selection, we’re informed, was to stay energetic — and to assist the opposite quarterbacks put together to win video games. When he determined to not keep house, the Giants altered his exercise program, to be able to reduce if not get rid of the opportunity of damage. He wasn’t going to be throwing at observe, and his lifting program was considerably restricted. All within the identify of conserving him wholesome.
Business issues prevented Jones from doing something to assist the crew. No actual observe (aside from scout-team, walk-through security), no throwing, restricted lifting. He wasn’t on the point of play, as a result of he wouldn’t have performed. He wasn’t permitted to take part in observe, as a result of they didn’t wish to threat triggering his $23 million damage assure for 2023.
Again, there’s nothing flawed with the Giants desirous to keep away from the damage assure. But that helps clarify Jones’s eventual determination to ask to be launched.
Brady, we’re informed, didn’t attain out to Jones or his illustration to acquire an evidence as to why Jones requested to be launched.
It’s straightforward for Brady to say he would have dealt with the scenario in another way, as a result of he was by no means put in that scenario throughout his 20-plus yr profession. What would he have performed if the Patriots or Buccaneers had benched him for enterprise causes, requested him to go house with pay, after which saved him from practising when he stated he wished to remain?
Also, Brady left his New England teammates in free company after the 2019 season. After the 2021 season, he retired. Roughly a month later, he got here again. In the interim, an effort was undertaken to lure him to Dolphins; it has by no means been recommended that Brady wasn’t on board with the plan to pair him with Sean Payton in Miami, after Brady had basically give up on the Buccaneers. Then, throughout 2022 coaching camp, Brady left the crew for greater than per week.
We’ll stipulate that Brady had good causes for each single enterprise determination he made. So would he have wished Greg Olsen or Tony Romo or Cris Collinsworth or Troy Aikman or Kirk Herbstreit to make assumptions throughout large broadcast home windows about Brady’s motivations and his actions? Or would Brady have wished them to make a telephone name or two seeking, you recognize, details?
For $37.5 million per yr from Fox, Brady needs to be anticipated to spend just a little time getting the participant’s facet of the story earlier than casting aspersions earlier than a crowd of 38.5 million.
