Washington defensive end Ryan Kerrigan: 'Tom Brady is the standard in the NFL'

Rookie defensive end Chase Young is not the only member of the Washington Football Team who’s excited to face Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady. The Washington Football Team, the No. 4 seed as the NFC East champion, and the No. 5 Buccaneers will face off in Saturday’s Wild Card Game at FedEx Field. Veteran defensive end Ryan Kerrigan told NBC Sports Washington's JP Finlay that he’s raring to face Brady, who will be playing for the first time in the playoffs as a Buccaneer after 20 years with the New England Patriots

Kerrigan, a 10-year veteran of the Washington Football Team, said in his three meetings against Brady when he was still with the Patriots, he has yet to win against the veteran quarterback and has yet to sack him, per a report by Ethan Cadeaux of Yahoo Sports.

"When you're going up against a guy like him, you want to get there," said Kerrigan, who praised Brady for his outstanding first season with the Buccaneers. "He's the standard in the NFL. I don't think anyone would disagree with me there,” he added. Kerrigan did not give the Buccaneers or Brady another bulletin board material, unlike what Young did recently when he called out Brady after their 20-14 win over the Philadelphia Eagles that secured their NFC East crown.

Kerrigan says Washington defense faces daunting task vs Brady

Kerrigan said the Washington’s defense is faced with a great challenge, especially going up against “someone who's so accomplished and still as good as ever as Brady is." In his first season with the Buccaneers, Brady threw for 4,633 yards and 40 touchdowns with 12 interceptions.

He finished third in passing yards behind Deshaun Watson of the Houston Texans (4,823) and Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs (4,740) and he ended up in tie for second with Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks in touchdown passes, behind Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers, who had 48. Overall, Brady had 43 touchdowns, including his three rushing scores in the regular season, as he led the Buccaneers to an 11-5 mark and a playoff berth for the first time since 2007.

Gronkowski excited for his first playoff with Bucs

Tight end Rob Gronkowski played 16 playoff games with the Patriots in his nine-year stay in New England, winning three Super Bowl rings during that span. The veteran tight end will make his first postseason appearance with the Buccaneers on Saturday and he’s excited to make a mark against Washington, per Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com.

Suiting up for all 16 games in the regular season after coming off a one-year retirement, Gronkowski said he’s ready step up his game a notch for the playoffs. “Now, bring that to the playoffs and bring that to another level for the playoffs. I feel real good and it was definitely a good season overall,” said Gronkowski, who recorded 45 catches for 623 yards and seven touchdowns.