NEW YORK — NFL legend Tom Brady was “a little” critical of New York Giants quarterback Daniel Jones while speaking on a panel at Fanatics Fest on Friday at the Javits Center.
Brady mentioned Jones' name out of the blue when discussing a hypothetical interception on stage with ESPN's Stephen A. Smith. This elicited more than a few laughs from the crowd.
“Let's say Daniel Jones throws an interception,” Brady said before being interrupted by laughter from the crowd.
As Brady tried to backtrack, he seemed to realize what he had said.
“I didn't mean it like that. I wasn't even criticizing Daniel Jones,” he said. “Maybe I was a little bit.”
At that point the conversation moved on.
Brady, a seven-time Super Bowl winner with the New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers, will begin this season as Fox's lead analyst. He is expected to work alongside lead play-by-play announcer Kevin Burkhardt.
Smith and Brady were discussing how the NFL legend would be careful not to be too critical of quarterbacks while broadcasting games.
Brady said he might want to make a comment like, “That was horrible,” but acknowledged, “I just can't say that on TV.”
“Why not?” Smith asked.
“Well, because there are parents and family members and I don't always want to necessarily say it that way,” Brady said. “But if I was doing it myself and let's say I threw a really bad interception, I'd go over to the sideline and say, 'You're the worst quarterback in the world. How could you make that throw? Terrible!'
“But I don't want to be too critical because, in a way, I don't know exactly what the problem was on that play. Let's say Daniel Jones throws an interception…”
Brady does have some history with the Giants organization, though it's not as positive as the rest of his playing career. He lost a pair of Super Bowls to Eli Manning and company in the 2007 and 2011 seasons. It's something he's mentioned repeatedly over the years, especially the fact that the Giants ruined New England's chance at completing an undefeated season in 2007.
Jones, meanwhile, appears to have caught a fumble on Friday. He is entering his sixth season with the Giants and has thrown two touchdown passes and six interceptions in an injury-plagued 2023 in which he tore the ACL in his right knee in November. He also missed games because of a neck injury.
Jones is expected to make his return to the field in Saturday's preseason game against the Houston Texans.
