ASHBURN, Virginia – The Washington football team, defensive end Chase Young, said on Sunday night what it wanted this week: Tom Brady. And that didn’t change three days later – even though some tried to turn it into bulletin board material.
After Sunday’s NFC East win in Philadelphia, Young was caught in the room saying, “Tom Brady, Tom Brady, come on! I want Tom! I want Tom. “
“I play ball,” Young said Wednesday. “I’m excited to go against the best. The media, their job is to shake it. If you know me, I’m excited for every game. Tom Brady, do you think I’m not happy to play against GOAT? You trippin. Not a “I apologize for saying I want Tom. No, I want every defender I play with.”
Young will have Brady’s chance when Washington (7-9) hosts the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11-5) on Saturday night. Young, general election no. 2 in the draft, recorded 7.5 sacks and four forced teams at team level. He returned a beating for a touchdown. Young ranks seventh with a earnings rate of 22.5 percent, according to ESPN Stats & Information. And, in the last seven games, it is the second, with 26.9%.
But Brady was fired just 21 times, the fourth-lowest in the league for defenders who have started at least 15 games.
“Ask any flyer in the league who they want to fire, and most could say Tom Brady,” Young said.
Earlier this week, Young’s coach, Ron Rivera, said he would become “notice material” for Tampa.
“They will have fun with him. You have to believe him to the point of youthful exuberance, but this is who Chase is,” Rivera said. “I get stuck, but at the same time I smile at him because he likes to play the game. I think that’s what it’s about. That’s what Chase is about. That’s the guy we want on our football team.”
Brady, 43, who will appear in the 12th post-season game of the NFL record on Sunday, did not take the bait, although his modest expression of a video conference call said it all.
“He’s obviously a great young player,” Brady said. “We got our hands on that D line, one of the best D lines in the league, so Chase is a great young player. I’ve been to Ohio State so naturally, I think the Ohio State-Michigan thing is a little bit. I understand “We are ready for a tough challenge and it should be a fun game.”
The buccaneers’ coach, Bruce Arians, praised Young, but also offered a word of caution to the beginner about the bear’s beating.
“It’s a damn player,” said Arians. “Obviously, making him captain, as a novice, he talks a lot. Both those kids in Ohio – him and [Terry] McLaurin – they are wonderful children. He is a hand, but so is he [Montez] Sweat, [Daron] Payne, the rest of those guys. Ryan Kerrigan – I had a lot of respect for [him] for a long time. We will have our hands full, but it is one of those games where you better look at what you want. “
Young’s exuberance was evident throughout the season. He gives fervent pre-game speeches and walks on the sidelines during games shouting encouragement to crime. During a loss to Carolina, when backup quarterback Taylor Heinicke replaced Dwayne Haskins, Young fled the field during a timeout to pump Heinicke.
Brady’s confrontation gives Young another chance to show his enthusiasm.
“I’m definitely excited to play GOAT,” Young said. “They say the greatest of all time. It’s time to leave.”
Jenna Laine, ESPN, contributed to this report.