FOXBORO – Over 20 cameras were set up inside the press conference room in Gillette Stadium. Eight of them were positioned on the left side of the podium, hoping to catch a glimpse of Tom Brady’s right side – literally.
The topic of Brady’s injured right hand has dominated this week as the Patriots get ready for the Jacksonville Jaguars in Sunday’s AFC Championship game. On Friday, Brady spoke for the first time since suffering the injury during Wednesday’s practice.
The quarterback nonchalantly walked to the podium on Friday afternoon wearing two red Under Armour gloves on each hand, which only added to the mystery. When Brady did talk, he didn’t say much.
How’s his hand doing?
“I’m not talking about it,” he said.
Will he play on Sunday against Jacksonville?
“We’ll see,” Brady replied.
Has he played in a game in more pain than he’s in now?
“I have played in a lot of games with pain,” Brady remarked.
Why on earth was he wearing gloves inside to a press conference?
“I’ve worn them before,” he stated.
Brady reiterated that he wasn’t going to discuss the injury multiple times in his four-minute press conference. When asked questions about whether he’d play or be efficient, he said, “we’ll see” multiple times.
Belichick wouldn’t add any information to the situation, adding that he “didn’t know” if Brady’s injury would affect the game plan or his performance as a quarterback. When asked about Brady’s status for the Patriots matchup on Sunday, Belichick responded, “Yeah, we gave out the injury report yesterday. We’ll update it today.”
Brady returned to practice on Friday. He was listed as limited on the injury report and his status is 'questionable' for Sunday's AFC Championship game.
Neither Belichick nor Brady might have said it, but the Patriots quarterback is expected to play in Sunday’s conference championship. Three Patriots – Malcolm Butler, Danny Amendola and Dion Lewis - all said they expect their quarterback to suit up.
“Oh yeah, I mean, this is a playoff game,” Lewis said. “It’s going to be tough to keep anybody out of that game. I’m sure he’ll do what he does.”
“I assume so. I assume so. He’s a winner. I think so. Yes, sir,” added Butler, who lauded Brady’s toughness. “Tough guy. Loves to compete. Wants to take every rep if he could. Tom’s a big boy. He’ll be there. You all know Tom, man.”
“Tom always tends to show up in big games, so, this is a big game,” Amendola said when asked if he thought Brady would play on Sunday.
This has been a wild week for the Patriots. Brady’s injury happened on Wednesday when a teammate reportedly ran into him while he was giving a handoff. According to 98.5 The Sports Hub, Brady needed stitches around his knuckle after hitting the buckle on a teammates helmet. The quarterback showed up to practice the next day, on Thursday, but Brady was listed as “did not participate” when the Patriots injury report came out. That only added to the mystery of this right hand injury.
On Friday, Brady was once again out on the field as practice started. Brady jogged back and forth like he always does in the team’s warm up. The quarterback also had a red glove on his right hand on Friday. It was the same on Thursday. Typically, Brady only wears a glove on his left non-throwing hand.
Although it’s impossible to tell how Brady’s feeling, it was noticeable that Brady balled his right hand into a fist while jogging. At the very least, we know Brady can close his hand. According to his teammates, he played well in practice.
“He looked pretty good to me,” Butler said. “Throwing pretty good. Laughing and joking like he always does.”
“He did. He looked good. Like Tom Brady,” Amendola said.
“From what I’ve seen it was a normal day – for us as a team and him,” Lewis added.
The Patriots certainly hope that Brady looks like Brady come Sunday. The Jaguars have one of the top ranked defenses in the NFL, which was one topic the quarterback would discuss.
“It is the best team we have faced all year,” Brady said. “They are here for a reason. They obviously are a top-ranked defense in the league, some great players at all levels and really well coached, scoring a lot of points. We are going to have to play really well.”
Tom Brady included.