Brady is entering his 22nd season in the NFL, and for him things may have gotten a little more difficult with the NFL changing its jersey number rules this offseason. A few months ago, Brady took to Instagram to voice some very surprising displeasure with the changes to the rule, and that continued before the Bucs’ season opener.
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Brady still hates the number rule, and speaking with the Tampa Bay Times he explained his reasoning for his displeasure with more depth:
Brady’s reasoning aligns with the reason he was originally ticked off a few months ago, when an Instagram of his read: “Good luck trying to block the right people now !! !! going to make for a lot of bad football.”
Brady may have something of a point, after all: The new numbering system may make it a bit more difficult for lineman and running backs to figure out who to block at the second level. Defensive lineman, though, have the same number bracket as before.
The Buccaneers take on the Cowboys in Thursday night’s season opener, and Dallas has several players who have changed their numbers this offseason, and a few new players who are taking advantage of the rule: Cornerback Trevon Diggs switched from No. 27 to No. 7, Linebacker Jaylon Smith switched from No. 54 to No. 9 and rookie ‘backer Micah Parsons is using No. 11.
The veteran quarterback is looking to secure his eighth Super Bowl ring. If he does, add numerals to the list of opponents he’s defeated.
