Tom Brady‘s legacy is etched in New England granite. After two decades and six rings, many would naturally expect him to root for the team. But despite being impressed with his former teammate Mike Vrabel-led squad, his refusal to side with the Patriots in Super Bowl LX has put him on the hot seat, with his former teammates now calling him out.

“Tom Brady I am highly I mean highly disappointed in you not rooting for your ex teammate, Mike Vrabel who is about to do something special,” Asante Samuel, the team’s cornerback from 2003 to 2007, wrote on X. “I’m going to fye your a** up one of these mornings. Tag Brady let him know I’m on his a**.”

The annoyance is understandable. Brady was only in his second year in the league in 2001 when he took over the role of primary signal caller for the Patriots. With second-year head coach Bill Belichick, he turned the tide for the team while also winning the Super Bowl that very year. And as we all know now, the rest is history.

But that’s also why Brady, of all, should understand where Vrabel and second-year quarterback Drake Maye stand.

Brady was a 199th pick in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. Of course, no one expected much from him. However, Belichick still gave him the opportunity. With the quarterback not caring about the narratives surrounding him, he went on to win six rings with the team. After he left New England for Tampa Bay, the team struggled, and how!

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But after five seasons of subpar performances under Belichick and Jerod Mayo, things have finally changed. Vrabel, with his cool temperament and mindful strategies, has helped the Patriots back on the biggest stage of the NFL as they go against the Seattle Seahawks this Sunday for Super Bowl LX. It wasn’t easy; the offense was certainly not at its best in the last win, but they are there.

Once again, though, they are the underdogs, just like Brady was.

In some ways, the duo of Vrabel and Maye has achieved what Belichick and Brady did. However, when he was asked about it, the legendary quarterback just confessed that there is no “dog” in the Super Bowl this year, and so, he doesn’t want to pick a side. Of course, more former teammates took issue with his comment.

More teammates latch on to Brady for his comment

“I’ve got a big-a– dog in the race,” Tedy Bruschi said. “I’m telling you that right now. That’s my boy right there, you know, Vrable, eight-year teammate, like a brother of mine. I mean, all of us, really. It’s like, we’ve got a dog in the fight. My dog is big, and I’m cheering for him.”

Of course, while Vrabel isn’t playing in the game anymore, he has a tough task on the sidelines as well. But he has done great work with Maye’s offense.

From the team ranking among the last across all offensive stats last season, they are among the top now. Even the defense has improved tenfold under Vrabel, with PFF ranking them third in overall offense and 11th in defense this season.

As for Maye, he became this year’s Most Improved Player, leading the league in multiple stats, including his 72 percent completions. He has also more than doubled his numbers with 31 touchdowns and 4,394 yards. In fact, both statistics are better than what Brady put in his first six years in the league.

Maye also received the Bert Bell Award for his plays this year. So, while he is an underdog, there’s no reason not to consider him a threat.

Vince Wilfork, the team’s former defensive tackle and a part of the Patriots’ Super Bowl-winning rosters in 2005 and 2015, also didn’t back down from expressing his thoughts. According to him, it was quite a simple response for Brady to back the Patriots for the upcoming game. Framing the choice as a political decision is what set off his frustration.

“Look at the end of the day. If you’re a patriot for life,” Wilfork said. “You know what it is. Don’t give me that political bull crap.”

Even though he ended his NFL career with the Buccaneers, Brady is a Patriot for life. Yet, when it came to supporting them publicly, Brady took a democratic stance. This is surprising, given that Tom Brady and Mike Vrabel share a memorable and glorious history.

Together, they spent eight seasons with the New England Patriots from 2001 to 2008, forming a duo that the sport has rarely witnessed. During that span, the duo won three Super Bowls (XXXVI, XXXVIII, and XXXIX) and helped establish New England as the NFL’s dominant force.

Primarily a linebacker, Vrabel also became a unique red-zone weapon, catching 10 regular-season touchdowns and two Super Bowl scores, all from Brady. However, their partnership came to an end in 2009 when Vrabel was traded to the Kansas City Chiefs as part of the deal involving Matt Cassel for a 2009 second-round pick, who ultimately became the 34th overall pick, Patrick Chung.

Yet, Vrabel has shown he is a Patriot for life, and that is visible in his work with the team in his first year at the helm.

Tom Brady hints at Mike Vrabel’s behind-the-scenes push to power the Patriots

Super Bowl 60 is only days away, and the storyline surrounding the Patriots–Seahawks matchup has been largely one-sided, with New England entering as clear underdogs.

While the team is all set to make their 12th Super Bowl appearance, their former quarterback and current FOX analyst, Tom Brady, recently discussed the topic during an on-air conversation with Colin Cowherd. The 48-year-old suggested that the team’s mindset could turn doubt into motivation, and the core reason behind a turnaround, if it happens, would be none other than his former teammate Mike Vrabel.

“Knowing Vrabel, he’s probably got every bit of underdog material up everywhere. If you pick the Seahawks, I’m sure he’s going to be telling the entire team that Colin Cowherd picked the Seahawks (and) we’re underdogs,” Brady said.

However, Vrabel didn’t really agree with the idea of taking all the credit for himself.

“I won’t win it,” Vrabel said, “It’ll be the players that’ll win the game. I promise you. It won’t be me that’ll win it, and I promise I’ll do everything that I can to, and our staff, to have them ready for the game.”

Mike Vrabel has already secured a rare spot in NFL history by reaching the Super Bowl once again. He is just the second individual to reach the league’s biggest stage as both a player and a head coach for the same franchise, joining Gary Kubiak, who accomplished the feat with the Denver Broncos. While Kubiak’s journey spanned Super Bowl losses as a player before a championship as a coach, Vrabel now has the opportunity to add his own record to the franchise history.

The Patriots take on the Seahawks at Levi’s Stadium this Sunday, February 8, 2026, at 6:30 PM EST, and we will see if Brady was truly correct to think there is no dog in Super Bowl LX.