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Former Detroit Lions offensive lineman Dan Skipper put Tom Brady's hot take on practice squad players on full blast Sunday.
It’s safe to say former Detroit Lions offensive tackle Dan Skipper wasn’t the biggest fan of the latest opinion from FOX Sports analyst Tom Brady.
During an appearance on Champion Mindset with Daniel Cormier on the UFC YouTube channel, Brady made several remarks about NFL practice squad players. One comment Brady shared with Cormier was that a lot of practice squad players prefer not to play in NFL games.
After that comment went viral on social media, Skipper made clear he strongly disagreed with that assertion. Skipper also appeared to take issue with the rest of what the six-time Super Bowl said about practice squad players.
“This is an absolute [expletive] take on all accounts,” wrote Skipper on X.
Skipper spent time on the practice squad with seven different NFL organizations. In January 2019, the offensive tackle was on the New England Patriots practice squad during the team’s last Super Bowl run with Brady as quarterback.
Skipper also appeared in 69 NFL regular season games, making 16 starts in his nine NFL seasons. He started 10 contests during his final two seasons, all of which were with the Lions, before retiring in January.
Brady’s remarks on NFL practice squad players actually came in February. But they ignited a firestorm on X at the end of May.
The former Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback called practice squad players “important.” But that’s where Brady’s praise for them ended.
“There were times where these 15 guys (practice squad players) would do really well in practice. And they’d be practicing and you’d be like a scout team receiver.
“I saw this happen a lot. These scout team receivers would come in and practice with, you know, the scout team, and they would do really well. I’d be watching them like, ‘Man, we gotta get that guy, like, let’s get him up on offense. He’s making a lot of plays, that’s Darrelle Revis he’s getting open on. Like, we gotta do something,'” said Brady.
“Then all of the sudden, we’re like, ‘Hey, man. You’re doing really well. You gotta come over here and deal with the pressure of succeeding now that you have expectations.’ And these guys are like, they weren’t prepared for it.
“So, whatever we saw in practice, against, where there wasn’t a lot of pressure, now when they’re put in a situation where there’s an expectation for performance, they’ve never had to personally deal with that. And then they fail.
“And then what I realized was, a lot of guys on those practice squads, they don’t want to be elevated to the roster. They’re very happy living this life where they can tell their family and friends, which I have no problem with that. Like, there’s no problem. Like, you’d just assume though that if you’re on the practice squad, you’d want to be at the top. But the reality is a lot of guys don’t want the pressure of dealing with the top.”
Tom Brady reveals the overlooked reason practice squad players never succeed in the NFL
It’s not a lack of talent.
Brady watched it happen for 20 years. The pattern was undeniable.
As soon as a practice squad player got promoted and had to perform under real pressure, they
Critics can potentially poke holes in several different aspects of Brady’s practice squad hot take.
For one, practice squad players don’t get the same opportunities as early draft picks. When a first-rounder has a bad game, they aren’t going to get demoted. Practice squad players face that reality, which is a different kind of pressure.
Practice squad players have to perform with fewer chances to prove they belong.
It’s also probably not accurate to suggest practice squad players have never dealt with pressure. College football is seemingly more popular than ever, and while not every NFL player comes from a big-time college program, most of them, including practice squad players, experience the FBS level.
Furthermore, more often than not, NFL players are alpha athletes. Practice squad players aren’t an exception. They are on the practice squad because, generally, the league views them as less talented.
So, it seems to be an odd assumption those players don’t want the NFL success of being on the active roster.
Skipper wasn’t clear what part of Brady’s opinion he took issue with. But based on his one-sentence X post, the former Lions tackle might have had a problem with all of what’s mentioned above and perhaps more.
After going undrafted in 2017, Skipper bounced around the league for years before finding a regular role in Detroit during 2022. That was during his fourth stint with the Lions.
From 2022-25, Skipper played in 56 of his 69 career games. He started all 16 of his games during that stretch.
Most of the time, though, the Lions used Skipper as an extra offensive lineman who sometimes ran passing routes. He caught two passes for 13 yards, including a touchdown in 2024.
Dave Holcomb is a sports reporter covering the NFL and MLB for Heavy.com, with a focus on the Pittsburgh Steelers and a variety of other NFL teams. Originally from Pittsburgh, Holcomb has covered college and professional sports for outlets including FanSided, Rotowire and Yardbarker. More about Dave Holcomb
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