As the NFL preseason continues to be a meaningless formality, Tom Brady wants players to make exhibition games matter again.
Week 1 of the 2026 NFL preseason is over, which means we’re just two more weeks of exhibition games away from the games that actually matter. And while the next two weeks of exhibition games don’t matter in the standings, Brady believes they still matter for the players.
A Tom Brady fan social media account (RandomTomBradyHighlights) recently posted a video of Brady throwing a 65-yard touchdown pass to Randy Moss during the 2010 preseason. Fans quickly took note of the touchdown coming with five minutes left in the third quarter, and Brady responded on his Instagram Story.
Preseason 2010 Brady to Moss pic.twitter.com/oK21iPlEZi
— RandomTomBradyHighlights (@TomBradyDaily) August 15, 2026
“Preseason… Regular season… I never wanted to be taken off the field. Practice makes perfect… Too many people looking for easy ways out these days,” Brady wrote. “When you’re a football player, and it’s football season, your job is to play football.”
That seems like a clear jab at today’s starters from the minority Raiders owner and lead NFL analyst on Fox. According to Greg Auman of Fox Sports, only 12 of 32 starting quarterbacks played during Week 1 of the preseason, averaging 14 offensive snaps each. In defense of the starters, it’s only Week 1. Typically, Week 3 of the preseason serves as the tune-up game where more starters will play more snaps.
It was Week 3 preseason tune-up in 2010 where Brady tossed that 65-yard touchdown pass to Moss in the third quarter. You can almost guarantee no starting quarterback will be in a preseason game with five minutes left in the third quarter this preseason, however. And last year, 10 starting quarterbacks went through the entire preseason without ever throwing a pass, further cementing Brady’s gripe that players don’t really view exhibition games as part of their job. It’s worth noting that Brady’s Las Vegas Raiders had starting quarterback Kirk Cousins throw six passes, while future starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza took over on the team’s second possession of the game and played into the fourth quarter last week.
But it’s not all on the players. Starting quarterbacks aren’t refusing to go into preseason games. Dak Prescott, Drake Maye, Lamar Jackson, Justin Herbert and others didn’t play during Week 1 of the preseason because their teams didn’t want them to play either. It’s become clear in recent years that coming out of the preseason healthy is a bigger priority than coming out of it in midseason form. Because while Week 3 of the preseason is typically the tune-up game, Week 1 of the regular season often plays like a tune-up game.
Brady’s Instagram Story may have been direct, but it’s unlikely to change any team’s mindset about how to handle their starters during the NFL preseason, except for maybe the Raiders.
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