Name any Pro Bowl edge rusher or even a Hall of Famer who played in the 2000s, and in all likelihood Tom Brady faced them.
Sunday, December 11, though, presents the first time Brady will share the same venue with Nick Bosa.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion is usually not one to call out pass rushers or send out a message to them before games. But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ quarterback most likely caught the attention on the NFL’s leading rusher on the San Francisco 49ers on Thursday, December 8.
Brady Hopes for This Facing Nick Bosa
Soon, Brady and the NFC South leading Bucs will square off against Bosa and the NFL’s best defense on Sunday, December 11 in their Week 14 battle involving playoff implications on both sides.
Brady is fully aware that the NFL’s sack leader at 14.5 Bosa is leading a pack of 49ers to hunt down the 45-year-old signal-caller. Brady, though, caught wind of one social media post on Instagram which prompted him to send a succinct message out to Bosa.
In three words, Brady shared this: “Be nice Sunday,” with the nervous emoji face.
Brady Also Gets Candid on Missed Chance to Play Against 49ers
Those who have followed Brady’s career knows about his past fandom for his childhood team the 49ers, having grown up in nearby San Mateo, California and attending Serra High.
There was a missed chance of playing in the historic venue where he fell in love with the Niners.
Back in 2008, the New England Patriots were scheduled to fly out to the Bay Area and take on a 49ers team that was still playing their home games at Candlestick Park. However, that was the same season Brady tore his ACL in Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs — scrubbing the opportunity to face his childhood team near his home town.
“So I never even got to play in Candlestick,” Brady recalled when talking to the Tampa media on Thursday.
Brady, though, still has an affinity for the team he grew up rooting for and for Candlestick.
“I always consider myself a California kid,” Brady said. “Grew up loving Joe Montana and Steve Young and going to the 49er games. That’s where I fell in love with football. We’d sit up there in the nosebleeds, and we had four tickets. My mom and dad would go, I would usually go and then one of my sisters would go,” Brady added. “I was lucky to grow up in the Bay Area at that time. It was just a great time. So many great players. Just a great era of football.”
Is There Good News for Brady Regarding Bosa?
Some good news for Brady: Bosa was not active during Thursday practice per The Athletic’s David Lombardi due to a nagging hamstring injury. But there’s bad news added to it:
“I would not overreact to this. Shanahan said the team would manage his hamstring issue throughout the week and, based on Deebo Samuel’s last week, big game action is possible without much practice for star veterans,” Lombardi tweeted.
No Nick Bosa at the beginning of Thursday’s 49ers practice. I would not overreact to this. Shanahan said the team would manage his hamstring issue throughout the week and, based on Deebo Samuel’s last week, big game action is possible without much practice for star veterans
Bosa is still likely to play — and likely won’t accept Brady’s playful demand. As it is, Bosa was already triggered by head coach Kyle Shanahan playfully ribbing the 49ers’ defensive line including Bosa on the eve of their game versus the Miami Dolphins — saying how he felt the 49ers linebackers played better than the S.F defensive line against the New Orleans Saints included Bosa. But Bosa was not in a joking mood and went on to take it out on the Dolphins with a season-high three sacks in the 33-17 romp. Bosa even ran over to his coach and told him to no longer “talk s*** about me.”
#49ers Nick Bosa says he told Kyle Shanahan not to talk Sh*t about him after his 3rd sack 😂😂
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Tom Brady Sends Out Message to 49ers’ Nick Bosa Ahead of Week 14 Game