Following their 31-23 win over the Washington Football Team, Tampa Bay Buccaneers veteran quarterback Tom Brady was seen talking to rookie defensive end Chase Young, who earlier called out the veteran quarterback ahead of their Wild Card Game last Saturday. In the mic’d up video of Brady shared by Buccaneers.com, the veteran quarterback also talked to his Washington Football Team counterpart Alex Smith after the game. Smith was supposed to start the Wild Card Game but his calf injury that he sustained on Dec. 13 against the San Francisco 49ers did not heal on time, forcing the Football Team to start Taylor Heinicke, a last-minute free agent signing.

Brady talked to Smith after win

While Smith did not see action against the Buccaneers, Brady delivered a strong and encouraging message to his fellow veteran quarterback after the game. "Hey, I'm so proud of you, bro," Brady was heard telling Smith, per Scott Davis of Insider.com. "You're unbelievable, you know that? You're an inspiration to all of us,” added Brady, telling Smith that he’s around if he ever needed something. Despite missing the Buccaneers’ game, Smith is a strong candidate to win the Comeback Player of the Year award. In 2018, Smith suffered a gruesome leg injury that needed 17 surgeries to repair. That injury almost caused Smith’s death while doctors mulled on amputating the quarterback’s leg.

But Smith defied all odds as he won the backup job to Dwayne Haskins. When Haskins was benched, Smith returned to his old role as starter, playing eight games in the regular season where he threw for 1,582 yards, 6 touchdowns, and 8 interceptions.

Heinicke shares words of advice from Brady

Heinicke, for his part, stepped up in Smith’s absence as he threw for 306 yards and touchdown with an interception and ran the ball six times for 46 yards and a score as he almost led the Washington Football Team to an upset win over the Buccaneers.

After the game, Heinicke shared that he had a chance to talk to Brady, who lauded his performance and gave him words of advice.

"Probably the best quarterback to ever play the game. It’s a neat experience. He just told me I played a hell of a game, showed a lot of grit out there,” said Heinicke, per Jordan Giorgio of NBC Sports.

“And just to keep working. Again, for that to come from him, it’s pretty neat. Not a lot of people get to experience that,” added Heinicke, stressing that "it’s always really cool when you’re talking to a future Hall of Famer." Heinicke had a chance to be in the same quarterback room with Brady after he was signed by the New England Patriots to their practice squad in 2017.

Brady, Brees to meet anew

The Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints will play for the third time this season. In their first two outings, Brady and Saints quarterback Drew Brees made history as they became the oldest quarterback matchup in NFL history with a combined age of 84. However, they will have a chance to rewrite history when they meet on Sunday as Brees will turn 42 on Friday.

That means, their combined age will be 85 on Sunday, which is a new record, per Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk. On Monday, Brady made fun of his and Brees’ age on Twitter.