Former Giants quarterback legend Eli Manning hilariously compared Tom Brady’s August absence from training camp with the Buccaneers to that of Michael Strahan, who failed to report to Giants training camp in 2007.
“I expect him to be as good as he’s been the last 20-plus years he’s been playing,” Manning said when asked what he expects from a 45-year-old Brady this season during a Wednesday appearance on ESPN’s “Get Up.”
“This guy knows how to play football, he knows the offense, he knows the players. The fact that he took a little break there in training camp, guys have done that before. Michael Strahan did it with us, except he just didn’t report,” Manning said, referring to the former defensive end’s unexpected absence from training camp in July 2007, when he was contemplating retirement.
“He’s like ‘I don’t think I’m coming back, I don’t know if I’m coming back. He just waited until the second week of training camp to come. Brady did the same thing just a different approach,” Manning said.
At the time, Strahan’s agent told the Giants that his client — who held the NFL single-season record for sacks (22 1/2) — was mulling retirement.
The night before Strahan missed training camp, he called then-coach Tom Coughlin and left a message to return his call. Strahan did not explain his reason for calling, Coughlin said at the time.
Strahan eventually reported to Giants training camp and helped lead the team to a Super Bowl title that same season, when they defeated the Patriots 17–14. The seven-time Pro Bowler — who spent his entire 15-year pro career with the Giants — retired after winning his first championship ring in 2008.
The Giants retired the No. 92 jersey of their Hall of Fame defensive end, Strahan, when they hosted the Eagles last November at MetLife Stadium.
That different approach Manning mentioned is that the Buccaneers and Brady had pre-planned the quarterback’s 11-day absence in August, which both sides said was for “personal reasons.”
When Brady did return to Tampa Bay, he chalked up his absence to having “a lot of s–t going on” — but never disclosed why he took time off.
Last week, Page Six exclusively reported there are currently issues between Brady and his wife, supermodel Gisele Bündchen, 42, who have been married since 2009. Bündchen recently left the family compound in Tampa, Fla., for Costa Rica, following a series of heated arguments over Brady’s abrupt decision to un-retire from the NFL.
Meanwhile, Brady is focused on the start of his 23rd NFL season, which kicks off on Sunday, when the Buccaneers visit the Cowboys in primetime.
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