



FLORHAM PARK, N.J. - The request was somewhat innocuous. Drew Brees had already said yes. Deshaun Watson. Stefon Diggs. Right along with Eric Ebron and a handful of other NFL players.

But Sam Darnold was holding out. Something about this appeal wasn’t hitting him right.

Would you wish Tom Brady a happy birthday for a video clip being put together?

The request came during a commercial shoot in July in Los Angeles. Darnold was going through some social media paces afterward when the subject was broached. Would he, as the New York Jets cornerstone quarterback, be willing to wish a happy birthday to Brady, a longtime Patriots nemesis and the man whose league throne Darnold was expected to challenge?

“Do I have to?” Darnold asked.

No, he was told. He didn’t have to.

Jets quarterback Sam Darnold is looking to improve upon an 0-2 record against Tom Brady and the Patriots. (Getty Images) More



So that was Sam Darnold’s final answer. No, he wasn’t going to be on a video wishing Tom Brady a happy birthday, even if other guys like Brees and Watson and Diggs had already done it. The refusal wasn’t mean-spirited. It wasn’t a slight. And frankly, the rationale behind it was encouraging stuff for a second-year NFL player.

Sam Darnold respects Tom Brady. But he’s here to compete with him. And that kind of thing has no boundaries or time constraints. So even in mid-July on a recording stage in California, the mentality has got to hold.

Which means no wishing Brady a happy birthday for a lighthearted video clip.

“That’s just it, man – knowing what I’ve got to do,” Darnold said when asked about the moment this week. “I’m going to get every competitive edge I can, because he’s going to do the same thing. He’s the ultimate competitor. He’s exactly where I want to be when I’m his age. To chase that, I can’t be giving him anything.”

The Jets brass didn’t know anything about the moment. But make no mistake, if guys like coach Adam Gase or general manager Joe Douglas had been in the room when it happened, they would have grown an inch. It was made of some of the small stuff teams dream about when they’re grooming a franchise quarterback. It’s the line between respect and awe – and the feeling that even a seemingly innocuous request would have been giving away a little something to Brady.

“For sure [that would have been giving Brady something],” Darnold said. “If I see him after a game, I’ll tell him good game and all that stuff. But I don’t want to give him anything. Especially to him. No.”





If the Jets franchise was looking for a mental snapshot to see where Darnold is heading, that should stand as an encouraging moment. Not just because Darnold refused a little curtsy to the king, but because he knew exactly why he wasn’t willing to do it. Despite growing up in Southern California and then starring at USC while being a big admirer of Brady, Darnold isn’t kidding himself. He has spent time thinking about what makes Brady tick. And he suspects a big part of the equation is constantly working – physically and mentally – to build and protect any edge gained. To always be competing. Even in small ways that don’t seem like a big deal.

When Darnold’s refusal was recounted to Gase this week, the coach lit up with a smile and asked, “Sam was the only one who didn’t do it?”

“He has a different way about him,” Gase said of Darnold. “He’s just like an old-school NFL quarterback. You respect him. He never blames anybody else. He holds himself to a higher standard than anyone else. He holds himself accountable. And the way he can approach guys – if something is not right, he has a way of getting the attention of guys and he has a way of commanding the huddle. … It’s hard to put it into words. He has an ‘it’ factor to him. It’s been fun for me to be around to witness a 22-year-old that has that kind of way about him.”

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