Tom Brady Discusses Skipping Nick Foles Handshake After Bucs' Loss to Bears

After Nick Foles beat Tom Brady yet again in the Chicago Bears' 20-19 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5, Brady—who generally shakes his counterpart's hand after games—ran off the field while Foles looked for him.

On Thursday, Brady told reporters it wasn't anything personal.

"I don't think it's anything in particular except I have great admiration for Nick and he's off to a helluva start," he said, adding that he shook the hands of longtime QBs like Aaron Rodgers and Drew Brees this season because he knows them better.

Granted, he also shook rookie Justin Herbert's hand, as Kyle Brandt noted on NFL Network earlier in the week:

Brady added: "I think Nick Foles is a hell of a player and a Super Bowl champ. I don't know one reason or another why I wouldn't do that. Sometimes I run off the field; sometimes I haven't."

Foles outdueled Brady in Super Bowl LII as the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the New England Patriots, 41-33. He finished 28-of-43 for 373 yards, three touchdowns and an interception, famously catching another touchdown on the Philly Special trick play. He won the game's MVP award.

Brady was similarly excellent, finishing 28-of-48 for three touchdowns. But his night will be primarily remembered for two plays—dropping a pass on one of New England's trick plays and losing the ball on a fourth-quarter Brandon Graham strip-sack that helped seal Philadelphia's victory.

Brady also didn't shake Foles' hand after Super Bowl LII.

The veteran quarterback told reporters after a preseason meeting between the Eagles and Patriots in 2018—when Brady did shake Foles' hand following the contest—that he hadn't intended any disrespect after the Super Bowl.

"I did hear that," Brady said of the talk that he snubbed Foles. "That was kind of made up to me because that was never my intention. I wouldn't be a bad sport."

Foles also downplayed the moment:

"I think everyone's made a big deal about it. There's a lot of craziness [at the end of the Super Bowl]. I've always respected Tom. I've met Tom several times. It was great to see him. But, like I said, I think everyone made a bigger deal of it. At the end of the day, he's a great dude, heckuva player, one of the greatest of all time."

And yet, here we are again. Brady may have just been frustrated after both losses and wanted to get off the field as quickly as possible. But enough people have noticed the trend that it came up at a press conference before Tampa's Week 7 meeting with the Las Vegas Raiders.