Brady mum on hand injury, status for AFC title game
FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts — Tom Brady is staying mum on his status for the AFC championship game after suffering a right hand injury earlier in the week.
Brady said a bit contentiously only “We’ll see” on Friday when asked whether he would play in Sunday’s conference title game against Jacksonville.
The quarterback wore red gloves and responded to several other questions about how much he practised or how he sustained the injury by saying: “I’m not talking about that.”
Brady is listed as questionable for Sunday after being a limited participant in practice Friday. He was also limited on Wednesday. He sat out practice Thursday, but wore a glove on his injured hand during the stretching period open to reporters. He usually only wears a glove on his non-throwing hand.
One thing Brady was clear about was the test he expects from a Jaguars unit ranked second in the NFL in total and scoring defence.
“It’s a very unique challenge,” Brady said. “I think their front three, their linebackers, are very instinctive and very fast. And great cover guys in the secondary. Ball-hawking defence. They strip it off you, they sack you . ... So they’re a good defence.”
Brady appeared on the Patriots’ weekly injury report several times during the latter half of this season with injuries to both his Achilles tendon and his left shoulder. The four-time Super Bowl MVP has never missed a playoff start during his 18-year career.
“Tom always tends to show up in big games. This is a big game,” receiver Danny Amendola said. “[He’s] super tough. The toughest. He’s a warrior, he’s a competitor and there’s really only one reason why he’s here, and that’s to play football.”