As the Cardinals prepare to take on the Buccaneers on Sunday, former teammates will match wits: Arizona coach Kliff Kingsbury and Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady.
The two played together for a season with the Patriots, giving Kingsbury a unique glimpse at the superstar’s work ethic. And that contributes to the argument on why Brady is the greatest of all time.
Kingsbury said, per Pro Football Talk, “The total commitment, lifestyle, sleep, eat, study, work that he’s put into that, it’s insane. When I got there, I thought I worked hard. Then I watched what he did and put into it and it was on a whole different level. There’s a reason he’s the best there ever was.”
Although New England selected Kingsbury as a sixth-round pick in the 2003 draft, he didn’t playin the regular season for the Patriots and was released the next year. He’d go on to play a single game for the Jets, completing one of two passes for 17 yards. He took over as Cardinals head coach in ’19 after six years in the same position at his alma mater, Texas Tech.
Brady, meanwhile, has played in the league since 2000 and competed in 10 Super Bowls (won seven). He’s a 15-time Pro Bowler, five-time Super Bowl MVP and three-time NFL MVP. He’s played in 332 games and registered 88,417 passing yards and 644 touchdown passes, including 20 touchdown passes and 3,897 passing yards so far in 2022.
Tampa Bay (6-8) leads the NFC South with three games to go this season.
The Cardinals (4-10) play host to the Bucs at 8:20 p.m. ET on Sunday.
