Tom Brady glanced down at his left knee brace, the one he wasn’t wearing when he was injured last week.
It was on at practice Monday, with some encouragement from Patriots owner Robert Kraft.
“Mr. Kraft felt pretty strongly about me wearing it,” Brady told a pack of reporters. “He said, ‘What’s the problem?’ I said, ‘I’ll wear it. I’ll wear it.”’
No sense taking chances with the two-time NFL MVP and the key to the success of New England’s rebuilt offense.
The sprained knee Brady suffered at practice last Wednesday sent chills through Patriots fans and was still a major subject on Monday, the first time Brady spoke to the media since the incident.
The Patriots never made an announcement about the injury, but Brady knew he was OK soon after he was knocked over by left tackle Nate Solder, who had been pushed back by Tampa Bay defensive end Adrian Clayborn during a joint practice.
He knew the injury wasn’t going to be serious “as soon as I got inside and had our trainers get a chance to look at it,” he said. “There’re a lot worse injuries that I’ve had and a lot of guys have played with far worse.
“I felt bad that it got the attention that it did because a lot of guys deal with a lot of stuff on a daily basis. I’m just lucky to be out here. After what happened to me in 2008, I love coming out to practice and playing and nothing is as exciting as that for me.”
Brady suffered a seasonending injury to the same knee in the 2008 opener. He hasn’t missed a game since.He participated fully in practice last Thursday then played the first two series of Friday night’s 25-21 exhibition victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
He completed 11 of 12 passes for 107 yards and one touchdown and is 18 for 20 for 172 yards and two touchdowns in four series going into Thursday night’s game against the Detroit Lions.
Still, he had a moment of concern immediately after being knocked down at practice as he released a deep incompletion toward rookie wide receiver Aaron Dobson.
When he returned to practice last Thursday, he was wearing the black brace with silver hinges that he also had on Monday.
Not that he enjoys it.
“Sometimes when you wear the brace a lot then you get used to wearing the brace,” Brady said. “I like to keep a nice strong leg. If it wasn’t strong, then something bad would have happened.”
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