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Tom Brady's personal trainer, Alex Guerrero, believes the quarterback's former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick "never evolved" in how he treated the seven-time Super Bowl champion during their 20 seasons together.
"It was like Bill never really ... I think his emotions or feelings never evolved with age," Guerrero told the Boston Herald on Wednesday (September 22). "As Tom got into his late 30s or early 40s, I think Bill was still trying to treat him like that 20-year-old kid that he drafted. And all the players, I think, realized Tom was different. He's older, so he should be treated differently. And all the players, none of them would have cared that he was treated differently.
"I think that was such a Bill thing. He never evolved. So you can't treat someone who's in his 40s like they're 20. It doesn't work."
Guerrero's comments came 11 days before Brady's long-awaited return to Foxborough when his new team, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, face the Patriots at Gillette Stadium on October 3.
Brady's father, Tom Brady Sr. discussed the upcoming Sunday Night Football matchup with longtime Patriots reporter Tom E. Curran for NBC Sports Boston and said his son felt vindicated winning his seventh Super Bowl as a member of the Buccaneers in February after the New England opted to allow him to test free agency in March 2020 after 20 seasons with the team, even acknowledging a reported rift between the quarterback and Belichick.
“Damn right,” Brady Sr. said ahead of his son's upcoming return to Gillette Stadium on October 3. “Damn rights. Belichick wanted him out the door, and last year he threw 56 touchdowns. I think that’s a pretty good year.”
Tom Brady Jr. actually threw 50 touchdowns between the regular season (40) and playoffs (10), which is still incredibly impressive at any age, let alone playing into his 40s.
Brady Sr. said his son is "more than happy that he's moved on," but acknowledged that he's "very nostalgic" about his upcoming return to New England.
"The fans embraced Tommy, the city embraced Tommy and the team embraced Tommy for a while," Brady said. "And so, when he comes home it's gonna be a real treat that he spent 20 years making his mark in Boston. We owe a lot to the Patriots and a lot to Boston."
Brady finished Sunday's (September 19) game with 276 yards and five touchdowns on 24 of 36 passing, leading the Bucs to a 48-25 win, their ninth consecutive win dating back to the 2020 regular season and playoffs.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion is now 499 yards away from Drew Brees' league record of 80,356 career passing yards, which puts him on pace to break the record during his Foxborough homecoming in Week 4.