Joe Buck 'proud' of Fox's Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen

ESPN play-by-play commentator Joe Buck is a fan of his replacements at Fox Sports. 

Buck and long-time NFL partner Troy Aikman made the jump from Fox to ESPN after the 2021 season to call "Monday Night Football" games for the four-letter network. Kevin Burkhardt and retired tight end Greg Olsen are currently serving as Fox's lead NFL broadcast team until Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady retires from playing and takes Olsen's spot in the booth alongside Burkhardt. 

"There have been times where they’ve had the game that involves one of the teams that we’re about to cover that next Monday night," Buck told The Athletic's Richard Deitsch about watching Burkhardt and Olsen call Sunday afternoon matchups. "So it’s imperative for me to watch as much as I can. That’s kind of been the beauty of doing Monday night. Everything’s buttoned up except for your game. That’s a huge difference from doing Thursday night. When you’re doing Thursday night and you’re talking playoff picture, there’s a lot more undecided. You’ve got a lot of playoff implications and scenarios that have been eliminated by the time we go on the air on a Monday. So I watch them all the time, and I’m proud of them." 

While Buck admitted he doesn't know Olsen, "hardly at all," the former Fox employee pointed out he and Burkhardt have talked "periodically" during the season. Buck also indicated he has coached Burkhardt on working with Fox's top NFL crew. 

Earlier this month, Andrew Marchand of the New York Post named Buck his "most powerful person in sports media for 2022" now that the announcer is enjoying a reduced schedule. Buck insisted for Thursday's piece he's "beyond thrilled" to be with ESPN. 

"At least from where I sit, me leaving Fox all ended on a great note," Buck told Deitsch. "I think Fox got what they wanted, and ESPN got what they wanted. The trades that you make in sports, if they help both teams, then it’s a great trade."