Tom Brady seems to send warning to active NFL quarterbacks

Retired quarterback Tom Brady took meaningful snaps each NFL season from 2000 through January 2023 and routinely received praise for his longevity and his ability to earn MVP honors into his 40s. 

He explained on the latest edition of his "Let's Go!" SiriusXM show and podcast why active signal-callers may struggle to follow in his footsteps. 

"I think unfortunately, the way the game’s going, a lot of the guys are running the ball a lot more," Brady said about quarterbacks while speaking with NBA legend Shaquille O’Neal, per Hayden Bird of Boston.com. "It just makes for a shorter career." 

Brady often joked late in his career about his lack of speed compared to skills possessed by younger quarterbacks, and it's worth noting he missed the majority of the 2008 season when he suffered a serious knee injury in Week 1 of that campaign. The seven-time Super Bowl champion also reportedly played throughout the 2020 season with a fully torn medial collateral ligament when he was 43 years old. 

"Running quarterbacks don’t last that long," Brady continued during his comments. "I don’t know who can play 21 years, I really don’t. I know what it took, and it took a lot. I’m sure some of the people have ambitions to try, but there are a lot of things that need to go your way. The only reason that I was able to do it was because I had so many people there to support me." 

Interestingly, Brady mentioned Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes when asked by O’Neal to identify "the next Tom." Mahomes turned 28 years old in September and already has somewhat of a worrisome injury history. 

"I believe that if someone does make it as long as I made it with the degree of success, then I give them a lot of respect," Brady added about playing in the NFL past his 45th birthday. "It would be an unbelievable accomplishment for them to do that, especially in today’s day and age."