Tom Brady Defends Decision to Take Personal Days: 'I Do Deserve One Day Off a Week'
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
James Gilbert/Getty Tom Brady
Tom Brady is defending his time off.
Following the news that the quarterback, 45, will be receiving a personal day every Wednesday for the first time in his career, Brady opened up about the decision.
On Monday's episode of his SiriusXM show, Let's Go! with Tom Brady, Larry Fitzgerald and Jim Gray, the NFL legend said he does "deserve" it.
"The fact that I've worked weekends for the last 23 years, I do deserve one day off a week so I think maybe, and I don't know if it's Wednesdays, but I get Tuesdays off," Brady said when asked about the arrangement. "That's probably good enough for me."
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport reported the news of Brady's day off over the weekend. The weekly day off, usually reserved for veterans in the league, follows Brady taking an occasional Thursday off over the last couple of years with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But this season, as he pauses once a week, backup quarterback Blaine Gabbert will take over his reps on first and second-down days. This gives Brady's secondary more time to enhance his skills, and Brady a chance to unwind mid-week.
Representatives for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did not respond to PEOPLE's request for comment at the time of the report.
"For most players, it's important," Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles recently told reporters. "But I think when you play in the league a certain amount of time, and you prepare a certain way, it's not necessary to practice that guy all the time. You're going to practice, but you're not going to practice all the time. You'll get a day off here and there because it is a long season."
Mike Ehrmann/Getty Tom Brady
Brady's new arrangement means that he will now be listed on every injury report throughout the season, and they will only be updated Thursday or Friday when there is a legitimate injury, according to a tweet from journalist Jeff Nowak.
The podcast episode comes on the heels of a high tension game between the Buccs and the New Orleans Saints Sunday. Following the game, Brady issued an apology for his visible frustration during the game.
At one point, Brady was seen throwing his tablet on the sidelines.
His blowup came after the second half of the game, USA Today reported, when the team kicked off with a stalled drive and punt. A clearly unhappy Brady was then seen yelling toward his teammates before throwing his helmet and the Microsoft tablet to the ground.
RELATED: Tom Brady Understands Interest in His Private Life: A 'Thing I've Been Dealing With for a Long Time'
Brady — whose team was ultimately victorious agains the Saints 20-10 — tweeted out a video responding to the moment, which was caught on camera by FOX and shared widely on social media.
"Great win to get to 2-0," Brady said in his video, noting the team's undefeated streak since beating the Dallas Cowboys earlier this month.
Despite the highs, Brady noted "the ugly ones count too" before expressing his regret for his outburst. "Sorry for breaking that tablet," he said, joking, "I think that's going to be another Twitter meme or something like that."
"Flying home to Tampa," Brady added. "Get ready for next week. Green Bay coming to town, let's go."
