TAMPA, Fla. ― Logan Ryan intercepted the final pass Tom Brady ever threw as a New England Patriot to seal a playoff win for the Tennessee Titans two seasons ago. But it was another pick-six Ryan made as a rookie teammate six years earlier that told him what the future Hall of Fame quarterback was all about.
Receiver Aaron Dobson slipped while running a curl route during an OTA practice and Ryan intercepted Brady’s pass, putting a move on the quarterback — “he might’ve fallen, or not,” Ryan said — on his way to the end zone.
“(Brady) ended up taking his helmet off, smashing and breaking his helmet in practice, and this is in April or May,” Ryan said. “... We’ve seen it on the sidelines at times, but this was in an OTA practice. That’s something I remember (from) 10 years ago. That’s a true story about how competitive it can get out there.”
Ryan took a lesson from the experience.
“It just brings you back to every play matters,” he said. “If you practice like that, the games were easier for us.”
Ryan, 31, expects more intense practices against Brady after agreeing to terms with the Bucs last week, one day after being released by the New York Giants.
The 10th-year safety not only has some history with Brady ― they won two Super Bowls together with the Patriots ― he has patterned his play after former Buc Ronde Barber.
The Pro Bowl cornerback was Ryan’s favorite player growing up in New Jersey, where Ryan became an all-state quarterback and defensive back at Eastern Regional High School in Voorhees. Like Barber, Ryan is equally adept at impacting a football game as a run stopper, pass rusher or pass defender.
In fact, Ryan’s versatility and ability to fill up a stat sheet is what is unique about his career. The former Rutgers star has dazzling numbers that include 18 interceptions, 13 sacks, 705 tackles and 95 passes defensed.
Ryan calls Barber a “mentor of mine” and says he reached out to him to ask about the secret to his durability.
“I really wanted to know the key to staying on the field,” Ryan said. “We had a lot of talks. How do you play 16 years without missing a game? A lot of that is good fortune, but there has to be something to it. So I tried to learn his formula a little bit about it and how to be available for my team each and every day. I’m going on year 10, and I’ve missed very few games in my career.”
Ryan hasn’t only been on durable; he’s been productive, too. In numerous ways, following in the footsteps of Hall of Famer Charles Woodson and Barber, a two-time finalist who Ryan believes should have gotten in on the first ballot.
“Ronde is the gold standard for me,” Ryan said. “ ... Any time I can bring him on the field or any time I can ask him to go to dinner, I’m asking everything I can, and he probably gets annoyed at me a little bit. But now I’m a Buc.”
For Ryan, the secret to longevity has been conditioning. He said he hadn’t done a mile run since gym class in elementary school but started distance running during the offseason after seeing what it did for Barber and some other players. Now, he runs two or three miles a couple of times a week “with ease.”
It’s enabled Ryan to avoid catastrophic injuries so his team can count on him each Sunday. He has missed only five games in nine NFL seasons.
“I think Ronde’s belief, and what I got from him is that if you’re in great shape, you have a better chance of not getting injured,” he said. “Now, some bones may break and that’s just the nature of the game. But a lot of times players get soft-tissue injuries because they’re not in shape or dehydrated, and when you get tired out there, you really put yourself at risk of bad positions to get injured.”
The Bucs were close to signing Ryan prior to the 2020 season, but it “came down to money,” he said.
Of course, Brady and the Bucs went on to win Super Bowl 55. When the opportunity to join the team came back around, Ryan didn’t hesitate. The team lost safety Jordan Whitehead to the Jets in free agency, but Ryan said he is thrilled to provide experience to a young defensive backs room that includes Carlton Davis, Sean Murphy-Bunting, Jamel Dean, Mike Edwards and Antoine Winfield Jr.
The Giants owed Ryan $5.5 million, so the Bucs got a bargain. They will pay him a $1.120 million veteran minimum, with the Giants picking up the rest.
“The No. 1 thing about coming here was winning a championship,” Ryan said. “That’s what I’m here to do and help with. Being a teammate of Tom, that’s what it’s all about. Playing football at the highest level, practicing football at the highest level, and the expectation and standard is a championship — each and every year, each and every day.”
