Shane Vereen is a New York Giant now, but the former Patriots running back is bristling at the backlash his former teammate Tom Brady is getting.
Vereen was on NFL Network’s NFL Total Access show on Monday and was asked his opinion on Brady’s four-game suspension for alleged “general awareness” of footballs allegedly having air pressure reduced prior to the AFC Championship Game.
“My take on it is I guess from an outsider’s standpoint now because I’m with the Giants and removed from the situation, I just look at the backlash that he has received and I don’t agree with all of it,” Vereen said. “I don’t think he should be stripped of his Hall of Fame career. I don’t [like the questions about his legacy], I don’t at all. I don’t think it should taint his legacy. He’s worked too hard; he’s too good of a player, too good of a quarterback for this to taint his legacy. He’s done so much not just for the game of football – he’s changed New England sports. I just don’t think something like this should really hold him back from his accolades after football.”
Vereen probably doesn’t need to sweat Brady’s Hall of Fame candidacy. But the legacy? There will be taint. Anyone who disliked the Patriots or Brady prior to the AFCCG because of perceived arrogance and annual success were provided with infinite ammunition by the NFL and Ted Wells. That the whole investigation - from the night of the alleged infraction, through Wells’ slanted 243-page report and through the punishment phase – has been comical doesn’t matter. It’s fodder just the same.
Brady’s current teammates haven’t spoken with the same candor about the punishment, so it’s left to guys who left –- like Vereen -- to give insight.
“I think a lot of times, things that come out about it are a little bit maybe overzealous, if you will,” Vereen offered. “I think a lot of guys around the league look at it as just it’s an issue. But at the same time, let’s move forward. The season is over with, the Super Bowl is over with, the champs have been crowned – let’s move forward to this next season.”
Easy for him to say. His quarterback’s playing the first four games.