Washington Commanders running back Austin Ekeler lost a fumble during his team’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, but the turnover probably won’t sting as much as what Tom Brady said about him on national television.
Ekeler fumbled after catching a pass late in the third quarter of the NFC Championship Game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia, Pa. He initially fell to the ground while making the catch and then had the ball punched out upon getting to his feet. The Commanders were trailing 34-23 at the time, so the mistake was costly.
Brady, who was calling the game as an analyst for FOX, pointed out that Ekeler has had ball security issues in the past. The legendary quarterback said part of the issue is that Ekeler has “very small hands.”
“Ekeler’s gotta secure that ball. He’s had fumbling problems over the course of his career. He’s got very small hands,” Brady said. “It wasn’t secured against his body because, naturally, as he’s trying to get up you’re just kind of using your one hand to get up and you don’t have a chance to cover it up.”
Tom Brady just violated Austin Ekeler on National TV:
“He’s got very small hands.” LMAO pic.twitter.com/Rmp4k98w57
— Pats Buzz (@PatsBuzz) January 26, 2025
Fans on social media could not believe Brady went there.
Brady calling out Ekler’s hand size. Lmao. pic.twitter.com/JgcicFiJP6
— ᵇ (@bheintzskol) January 26, 2025
Austin Ekeler hand size taking a massive ricochet shot from Tom Brady there
— Football (@BostonConnr) January 26, 2025
“Austin Ekeler has very small hands” – Tom Brady pic.twitter.com/6DvBN6gGz0
— BeatinTheBookie.com®️ (@BeatinTheBookie) January 26, 2025
Tom Brady on the Ekeler fumble: pic.twitter.com/d6JwPBw6gX
— Mike 🥪 (@DaddysHomeFF) January 26, 2025
Brady on tv saying you got small hands Austin Ekeler. This gone be your legacy
— Ray Nagin in ‘05 (@_idonttweet) January 26, 2025
Surprisingly, Ekeler is not the first NFL player to be called out over his hand size. We cannot, however, remember another time where an analyst pointed out during a live broadcast that a player has very small hands.
The fumble was bad enough for Ekeler. The veteran running back will probably recover more quickly from that than Brady’s “small hands” comment, though.
