What Tom Brady told Aaron Judge in tunnel before Bucs-Saints originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
There was a whole lot of star power in tunnel at Raymond James Stadium on Monday night.
Prior to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers‘ Week 13 game against the New Orleans Saints, quarterback Tom Brady bumped into MLB superstar (and current free agent) Aaron Judge, who was rocking a No. 13 Mike Evans jersey.
The morning after the Bucs’ dramatic 17-16 win, Brady shared a video of their brief exchange, which revealed Brady’s joking pitch to the 6-foot-7, 280-pound slugger.
“Do you wanna play tight end for us tonight?” Brady told Judge with a smile.
Bucs tight ends Cameron Brate and Cade Otton might take that personally, but Brady was just having fun with Judge, who probably could have been a very good tight end if he traded in his bat for football pads.
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What was Judge doing at a Bucs game wearing an Evans jersey, you ask? As ESPN’s Jenna Laine pointed out, Evans wore a Judge No. 99 Yankees jersey after Judge hit his 62nd home run of the season to break Roger Maris’ American League record, so Judge returned the favor by rocking Evans’ jersey.
The Yankees’ spring training facility also is based in Tampa, so some viewed the fact that Judge was in the area as a good sign for the Yankees’ chances of re-signing him in free agency.
The San Francisco Giants also are considered a serious suitor for Judge, however, so others took the bait on a larger conspiracy theory: that Brady plans to join his hometown 49ers next offseason and was pitching Judge on coming with him to the Bay Area.
That seems a little far-fetched, but there’s no doubt Brady has Judge’s respect after leading another incredible comeback in primetime.