Watch: Tom Brady Shows He's Somehow More Athletic at 41 Than When He Entered the League
Already the NFL’s oldest non-kicker/punter, Tom Brady is a month shy of his 42nd birthday.
But the Patriots quarterback is still out to prove that age is just a number.
And until he stops getting results, there’s no reason to think he’s wrong.
As part of his offseason preparation, Brady ran a 40-yard dash and was clocked at 5.17 seconds, per NFL reporter Dov Kleiman.
While that time was roughly a half-second slower than the times of the top QBs at this year’s combine, it was also better than what Brady posted at his own combine in 2000.
.@TomBrady running his 40 time at 5.17 one month short of his 42nd birthday.
Brady entered the league running 5.28 at the 2000 combine. He improved every part of his game since then. pic.twitter.com/wFP1VzlRe4
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) July 5, 2019
In the video above, Brady’s trainer, Alex Guerrero, says the 40-yard dash attempt came at the end of their training session after he had already run one at the beginning.
“We try to beat fatigue-time 40s,” Guerrero said.
“[We did it] at the beginning of our training, we do them at the end to see if he can still be faster than he normally is when he’s tired,” he adds.
With the encouragement of his training partners, Brady then runs a 5.17-second 40-yard dash, according to the video.
It’s worth noting that Brady also appears to be in better shape than he was as a slightly pudgy 22-year-old at the 2000 combine.
With the NFL Combine starting today, we thought it’d be a good time to remember Tom Brady at the event in 2000. pic.twitter.com/uTBMyLhYcM
— Sports Photos (@sportsphotos) February 26, 2019
Brady showed off his wheels during the 2018 season, when he eclipsed the 1,000 career rushing yards plateau.
He also ranks second all-time in postseason rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, although he also has had more opportunities than any other quarterback.
Even though scrambling and running isn’t a huge part of his game, Brady does put in the work to increase his speed.
In May, he posted a video of himself running on a curved treadmill while facing resistance and holding a football:
Last offseason, he posted a similar clip, except he was running in the sand in preparation for reaching that 1,000-rushing yards mark.
Despite his historic success, Brady still has critics.
These running videos are no doubt his way of responding to those who think he’s over the hill.
Another example of this would be Brady posting to Instagram last month that he threw a ball with a velocity of 61 miles per hour.
That mark would have been the second-fastest in combine history since 2008, when that stat started being tracked.
Yes, Tom ?????? pic.twitter.com/iHZkGvX7Kg
— Meredith Gorman (@MereGorman) June 27, 2019
Accompanying the picture was the caption, “He’s Gonna Fall Off a Cliff,” as well as football and thinking-face emojis.
That’s in reference to ESPN’s Max Kellerman stating three years ago that Brady’s play would “fall off a cliff.”
There must be Super Bowls at the bottom of that cliff, as that’s the only thing Brady has fallen into since then.
The Patriots have made it to three straight Super Bowls since Kellerman’s comment, and Brady has won his fifth and sixth rings.
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