Once a Pro Bowl linebacker for the Dallas Cowboys, Jaylon Smith knows a thing or two about what goes on in the NFL. Smith last appeared in the league with the New York Giants in 2022 and while he started 11 games last year, it’s fair to say that he’s lost a step. If he eventually decides to hang up his cleats and make the switch over to television, that transition will be seamless. And his appearance on Good Morning Football Friday is proof.
During a segment on Friday’s edition of the NFL Network morning show, Smith sounded off on the biggest head-to-head rivals on the field with the conversation coming around to trash-talking. He then revealed an answer that may shock some, as to who is the best trash talker in the NFL or was, for that matter.
We bet you didn't know this about Tom Brady's trash talk on the field 🗑️…@thejaylonsmith pic.twitter.com/jhkmAD2mbI
— Good Morning Football (@gmfb) July 14, 2023
“You know what’s crazy? I would say, Tom Brady,” Smith said. “He talked some stuff and it’s subtle, but it’s enough where it gets under your skin. But it’s like a different dynamic because you gotta respect him because he’s the G.O.A.T (Greatest of All Time).”
Smith brought up an example from the 2018 season when the Cowboys were playing in Foxborough in freezing weather. Smith recalls the game like it was yesterday, rattling off statistics: 10 tackles (two for loss) and a pass breakup on Julian Edelman.
“They ended up running the same play again, where Julian, he isolates the linebacker across the middle of the field,” Smith recalled. “And the second time they ran it, I felt like I was on it, but I feel like I was on it too much. I was early to the pass deflection, kind of wrapped my arm around Julian a little bit…it was a great play, but they called a penalty.”
Smith got called for defensive holding.
“I got up and Tom Brady’s like, ‘Oh yeah, you thought you had me, huh?’”
Brady told Smith he was a great player after the game, but that moment of trash talk stuck with him. It also gives some more insight into the competitive side of Brady, which everyone was aware of, but didn’t exactly get to hear on the field.
