After the Washington Football Team punched their ticket to the playoffs on Sunday night, defensive end Chase Young had one man on his mind: Tom Brady. Washington will be facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on wild-card weekend, and Young is ready to take on Brady head to head.
As Young skipped off the field on Sunday night, he was already calling out Brady.
“Tom Brady, I’m coming. I want Tom. I want Tom,” Young said.
Buccaneers head coach Bruce Arians heard about Young wanting to face Brady, and on Monday he showered Young with praise — but also warned him about what can happen when you get what you want.
Arians to Young: ‘Watch what you wish for’
Arians had nothing but great things to say about Young and his Washington teammates Terry McLaurin, Montez Sweat, Daron Payne, and Ryan Kerrigan when he spoke to the media on Monday.
“[Young’s] a hell of a player. Making him a captain as a rookie speaks volumes,” Arians said via NFL.com. “Both those kids from Ohio State, he and McLaurin, are great kids. He’s a handful, but so is Sweat, Payne, the rest of those guys. Ryan Kerrigan , I’ve had a ton of respect for a long time.”
But Arians ended that statement with a warning. Young is getting exactly what he wants, so he better be ready for what happens next.
“We’ll have our hands full, but it’s one of those games where you better watch what you wish for,” Arians said.
Ron Rivera has mixed feelings about Young’s celebration
Young was being bold and brash, which is what you expect from a rookie headed to the playoffs for the very first time. But Washington head coach Ron Rivera couldn’t get fully behind it.
“It’s going to be bulletin board material, let’s be honest about that,” Rivera told the media on Monday when asked about the clip. “They’ll have fun with it. You’ve got to chalk it up to youthful exuberance, but that’s who Chase is.”
Rivera’s been in the NFL for a long time, and he knows how thoroughly a call out like that can backfire. Young gave Brady some excellent bulletin board material — not that Brady needs it — and it could motivate Tampa to deliver a righteous beating on Washington.
Plus, Rivera knows that his team struggled to beat a Philadelphia Eagles team that was trying to lose on Sunday night. It’ll take more than Young’s “youthful exuberance” to give Washington an edge against the Buccaneers.
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