Patriots' K.J. Britt learned these lessons from Tom Brady with Buccaneers

Years before linebacker K.J. Britt signed with the New England Patriots earlier this offseason, a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that had Tom Brady serving as its starting quarterback selected Britt in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL Draft. 

Britt and Brady were teammates until the GOAT retired following the 2022 season. While speaking with reporters on Tuesday, Britt touched upon what he learned while sharing a locker room with TB12. 

Tom Brady taught K.J. Britt "the standard" for how to be an NFL player

"His preparation. How he prepared. He was fun to play with," Britt said about Brady, per Mark Daniels of MassLive. "You know, he commanded the field. When he took the field, he had an aura around him that was like, 'Here we go.' It was just good. I was young, a young player then, so I really didn’t know. Thought that was the standard, but it was good to see."

Brady developed a reputation for being one of the most prepared quarterbacks and one of the most fiery competitors in NFL history as he helped the Patriots win six Super Bowl championships from 2000 up until he signed with Tampa Bay in March 2020. Brady then earned the seventh Super Bowl ring of his remarkable career in his first season with the Buccaneers. 

"When you see stuff like that, you want to go try to kind of duplicate it," Britt added during his comments about Brady. "But, you know, Tom had his own story, so you learned that throughout the league. Tom is probably the greatest quarterback, but you also have to learn that he did it his way. He worked, and he took care of his body and did stuff his way. So, you got to learn how to use it for you. Everything that worked for Tom probably won’t work for you, so. But just to watch him and just play with him, man, it was a treat."

K.J. Britt appreciates how Tom Brady changed the Patriots organization

The Patriots claimed zero Super Bowl titles from the birth of the big game in the 1960s up until the franchise drafted Brady in 2000. Arguments about whether Brady or head coach Bill Belichick was more responsible for New England's dynastic run have generated interesting conversations on sports-talk programs. That said, it can't be denied that the two changed how fans and players viewed the organization throughout the 2000s. 

"Everybody knows this is a historic organization," Britt said about the Patriots. "Six rings, a lot of winning that went on here. So you don’t really have to ask much. You know what it takes to win in this league. You know, it takes sacrifices, and it takes relationships, and it takes a team. So being able to play with Tom, you know that that’s the formula that helped him in his career."