Tom Brady Injury: Updates on Patriots Star's Ankle and Return

Updates from Tuesday, Oct. 14

Bleacher Report's Eric Frenz has the latest on Tom Brady's practice status for Tuesday:

Updates from Monday, Oct. 13

Kimberley A. Martin of Newsday has the latest on Brady's status:

Updates from Sunday, Oct. 12

Tom Brady was playing with a rather serious ankle injury in the Patriots win over the Bills according to Tom E. Curran of csnne.com:

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According to two sources that spoke with Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran, the ankle injury that made Brady questionable to play in Sunday's game with the Bills was significant and needed a lot of therapy to be ready by the time the Patriots kicked off in Buffalo. 

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The Patriots previously announced Brady is active for Week 6:

ESPN.com's staff, with the aid of ESPN's Adam Schefter, previously reported the pregame expectation for Brady:

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New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, despite being listed as questionable with an ankle injury, will start Sunday against the Buffalo Bills, league sources told ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter.

Brady injured his ankle during Friday's practice, when he rolled it on the foot of one of New England's interior offensive linemen, a source told Schefter. ...

... 'It's not really an issue,' one source said.

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Updates from Saturday, Oct. 11 

Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald provided an update on Tom Brady's status for Week 6:

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Quarterback Tom Brady is traveling to Buffalo today with the Patriots despite suffering an ankle injury during yesterday's practice, according to a source.

Even better, he doesn't need a walking boot, indicating the injury isn't all that serious. Brady is officially listed as questionable for tomorrow's game against the Bills after the ankle popped up on the injury report for the first time yesterday afternoon.

 

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Original Text

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is regarded as one of the NFL's most durable players, but not even he is immune to the rigors of playing professional football.

Ben Volin of The Boston Globe reported that Brady is battling an ankle injury:

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport provided more detail:

Being without Brady for any amount of time is obviously a huge blow to New England's prospects moving forward. Although Brady doesn't put up the same numbers as Peyton Manning, Drew Brees and Aaron Rodgers, his importance is undeniable.

In fact, ESPN's Skip Bayless labeled him the best quarterback in football ahead of the 2014 campaign:

If nothing else, Brady may be the most valuable player in the NFL in terms of what he alone means to his team's success.

His list of accolades is seemingly endless. Brady is a three-time Super Bowl champion, two-time Super Bowl MVP, two-time NFL MVP and nine-time Pro Bowler to boot. In addition, the University of Michigan product has led the Pats to an impressive five consecutive AFC East titles.

As good as Brady is during the regular season, his playoff exploits are even more legendary. As evidenced by this statistic courtesy of ESPN Stats & Info, Brady is one of the most productive and successful postseason signal-callers of all time:

Even at 37 years of age, there aren't any signs of Brady's skills eroding. His numbers dipped a bit last season as he threw for just 25 touchdowns and completed a mere 60.5 percent of his passes, but that was due largely to injuries befalling his supporting cast, including tight end Rob Gronkowski.

Brady still led the Patriots to the AFC Championship Game, though, and had a spectacular year despite his obstacles.

With that in mind, Brady made it clear on WEEI's Dennis & Callahan show (h/t Boston.com's Steve Silva) prior to the 2014 season that he planned to continue playing as long as he could do so at a high level:

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There's nowhere I'd rather play, I know that. I love playing for this team and I love representing this team and hopefully I can do that for as long as I can. When I suck, I'll retire. But I don't plan on sucking for a long time. So hopefully that leads me to being here and there's no place I'd rather be. I love this game and I love working hard at it. I've had a lot of people over the years tell me the things I couldn't do and I think that's always been great motivation for me to try to go out there an accomplish things that I think I can do so hopefully I can continue to play at a really high level for a long period of time.

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There is nothing wrong with Brady's ability right now, but it gets far more difficult for players to stay on the field as they get older. Aside from an ACL injury that cost Brady all but one game in 2008, he hasn't missed a contest since taking over as New England's starter in 2001.

For that, he can thank the traditionally great protection from his offensive line. Unfortunately, all it takes is one big shot or misstep to put someone on the shelf.

There is no guarantee that Brady will bounce back easily from this injury, but he was as good as ever following his injury in 2008. Brady has always been a resilient player, and there is no reason to believe that has changed.

Perhaps the most interesting aspect of this situation is the fact that second-round rookie Jimmy Garoppolo is Brady's backup. The Eastern Illinois star beat out Ryan Mallett for the No. 2 job in training camp, but he could be thrust into the spotlight far sooner than expected.

The same was true for Brady in 2001, though, and he made the most of that situation. Garoppolo won't be displacing Brady like Brady did Drew Bledsoe, but the parallels are certainly there.

The Patriots need Brady in order to contend. If it wasn't already evident how vital he is, then it will become blatantly obvious if he's held out of the lineup.

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