Tom Brady on trade possibilities: ‘You need a Harvard degree to figure that stuff out’
Tom Brady is one of the most influential players on the football field. But off it, he knows his boundaries.
The quarterback has seen 15 trade deadlines pass, and with his 16th looming on Tuesday, he doesn’t concern himself with the possibility of trades. He leaves cap management and personnel changes to those in the front office.
“I don’t know how any of that stuff really works,’’ Brady said Monday in an interview on Dennis and Callahan. “I don’t know all the pro-rated bonuses, and roster bonuses, and unlikely-to-be-earned incentives, and paragraph fives … I mean you need a Harvard degree to figure any of that stuff out. Believe me, I was a general studies at Michigan.
“Every team has their own cap guru, and I think it takes as many years of experience as coach [Bill] Belichick has to figure out all the nuances of those types of things. For me, it seems impossible to understand. Some people do [understand], but that’s their full-time job.’’
Belichick, who has a Wesleyan degree, has acquired players at the deadline for three consecutive years: Aqib Talib in 2012, Isaac Sopoaga in 2013, and Akeem Ayers and Jonathan Casillas in 2014. So far this season, they’ve traded for former Bears linebacker Jon Bostic and former Saints defensive lineman Akiem Hicks.
Trade talks were at a minimum during the weekend, Belichick said during Sunday’s press conference. The Patriots may not have played Sunday, but 24 NFL teams did. And Belichick said trade talks would be quiet until Week 8 games finished.
“I don’t really think there’s too much talk going on in the league. We’ll see what happens next week,’’ Belichick said.
Speculation has swirled about the Patriots trading for a veteran cornerback. The Patriots have a handful of young talent in Malcolm Butler, Logan Ryan, and Justin Coleman, but lost veteran Tarell Brown to injury and cut veteran Bradley Fletcher.
Devin McCourty’s brother, Jason, is the No. 1 cornerback on the 1-6 Tennessee Titans.
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