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Getty Tom Brady doesn't quit poking fun at old teammates or opponents, even before a new season.
It’s been two weeks since Tampa Bay and Tennessee got heated in joint practices during training camp, but quarterback Tom Brady hasn’t stopped the jabs.
Brady recently made an apparent comeback to Titans head coach Mike Vrabel’s tweet with Brady’s son according to ESPN’s Jenna Laine. The two former New England Patriots teammates went back-and-forth during the training camp week in August.
“There’s a healthy competition between us even though he’s fat and out of shape now. Physically, he’s declined to a really sad state,” Brady jokingly said of Vrabel in the Bucs’ In the Current video per Laine.
She also reported that Vrabel gave Brady a hard time in front of both teams that week, too, as he said “I know you guys are moving forward, but it’s good to see another defense carry Brady to another Super Bowl.”
Brady and Vrabel played together for eight seasons in New England, winning three Super Bowls together. Though Vrabel played linebacker, he caught eight touchdown passes from Brady in short yardage situations, a perfect 8-8 on targets.
“I think he’s toned down a little bit in his old age,” Brady said jokingly in an Aug. 18 press conference. “He was much more chattier as a player, so he complained a lot when I didn’t throw him the ball, like a typical diva receiver. I think he has mellowed out as a coach a little bit.”
Brady, Vrabel Still Friends
Laine noted that the two “are still close friends” though Brady alluded to Saturdays in the fall being an exception.
“He went to Ohio State. Obviously, I don’t like him,” Brady, who played at Michigan, joked in the video.
Brady had more sincere comments on Vrabel at camp last month per CBS Sports.
“He’s doing a great job and he’s a great coach,” Brady said. “Obviously, he was a great player so he kind of coaches the way he would have played — try to be smart and really try to make them beat you. They’ve always done a good job of that.”
Vrabel ironically coached the last team to beat a Brady-led team in the playoffs when the Titans eliminated the Patriots on a pick six in the 2019 season Wild Card round. Brady left after that season to join the Bucs in free agency, leading the team to a Super Bowl win.
If Brady and Vrabel meet again this season, it will have to be in the Super Bowl.
Brady Targets Many More Than Vrabel
Brady has joked with about as many NFL players as he’s thrown to in his lengthy NFL career , while still showing respect for former teammates and opponents.
He persistently teased former Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman this past offseason about coming out of retirement to join the Bucs. Edelman ultimately confirmed he will stay retired amid injuries that ended his career.
Brady also jokingly reminded Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers about how last season’s NFC Championship game ended. The Bucs quarterback likewise talked trash about golf when the two met up for a celebrity golf tournament this summer.
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Bucs’ Tom Brady Teases Ex-Patriots Teammate in Viral Video