“It’s different when you’re Tom Brady” - Julian Edelman opens up about TB12's unique leadership style
Julian Edelman and Tom Brady were teammates on the New England Patriots for 11 seasons. After joining the Patriots, the wide receiver quickly became one of Brady's favorite targets, and the duo went on to win three Super Bowl titles together.
Brady left before the 2020 NFL season to join the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and Edelman announced his retirement in April 2021. If anyone knows Brady well, it's his former wide receiver.
The former New England Patriots wide receiver made an appearance on the Pardon My Take podcast and talked about all things NFL, and of course, Tom Brady came up as well.
He said that, because of the caliber of player that Brady is, he knows that he needs to be a leader who is effective. He is able to speak to everyone at their level because he knows that not everybody can be talked to the same. He praised Brady's ability to be able to handle his teammates in a manner that works for them individually.
"He's a motivator when he has to be. But it's different when you're Tom Brady because Tom couldn't necessarily get on a kid or a younger player because he's Tom Brady. Do you know what I mean? So he knows how to do it in a different form and fashion, and that's a leadership in its own, how to get guys that need to be yelled at, like alright, I gotta yell at this guy. I gotta like you know, you gotta soften with this guy."- Julian Edelman on Tom Brady's ability to lead in his own way
He, then, joked that Tom Brady had a certain way of speaking to tight end Rob Gronkowski, suggesting that they needed toys to get his attention.
"Those are like, you gotta get a squeaky toy for Gronk. Whatever it takes."
Julian Edelman shares post about Tom Brady's possible retirement
After the news broke this weekend that he would be retiring after 22 seasons, Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady now denies the rumors that he has decided to retire from the National Football League. Before Brady addressed the rumors, many former and current teammates took to Twitter to congratulate and thank the quarterback for everything.
Former New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman was one of those who did so. In a post to his Twitter page, he posted a picture of Brady, calling him "Babe," in reference to previous jokes that the quarterback calls everyone that nickname.
Thanks for the memories, babe. @TomBrady https://t.co/lCqCVn13tI
After Brady's agent released a statement saying that he was still thinking about his future, Edelman then replied to his own tweet a few hours later, insisting that he was just thanking his former quarterback and not necessarily talking about him retiring.
Can’t a guy thank another guy for the memories without everyone thinking he’s retiring!?
Since his former and current teammates are unaware of his thought process as of right now, it seems that Tom Brady is keeping his future plans close to the chest as of right now.