Brady staying mum on status for AFC championship showdown
>> NEW YORK: New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady deflected questions about his injured right hand on Friday, leaving his status in doubt for today’s NFL showdown with Jacksonville for a Super Bowl berth.
Two days after suffering the injury to his throwing hand when someone accidentally ran into him during a workout, Brady and Patriots coach Bill Belichick were tight-lipped about whether Brady will play and how able he would be to throw. “We’ll see,” Brady said. Asked about how his hand is feeling or if he tossed any footballs on Friday, Brady answered, “I’m not talking about that.”
The five-time Super Bowl champions gave the same response when pressed for details on how he was injured, and the superstar was vague when asked if he had played in more pain than he was now feeling.
“I’ve played in a lot of games with pain,” Brady said.
Brady was limited in Wednesday’s workout after being hurt and only warmed up in red gloves on Thursday before skipping the practice session. He also wore gloves to Friday’s news conference.
Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler said Brady had looked good in practice and predicted he would play Sunday, saying “Tom is a big boy. He’ll be there.”
Belichick refused to speculate on Brady’s injury, saying little more than the Patriots were “getting ready for Jacksonville.”
Asked about his level of concern for Brady’s ability to play at peak levels in today’s home play-off game, Belichick said, “I don’t know. We’ll see.”
Asked how the uncertainty over Brady’s injury has complicated planning for the game, master planner Belichick replied, “I don’t know.”
Asked if Brady’s status might not be determined until game time, Belichick said only, “Today is Friday.”