Tom Brady Leaves Practice With Apparent Injury
BOSTON (CBS) -- Sound the alarms -- Tom Brady got hurt.
Exactly what was hurt and how badly, we don't know, but it was enough to force the quarterback out of Wednesday's practice session with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Foxboro.
Shortly after practice, WBZ-TV's Dan Roche reported that the injury Brady sustained is not serious and is likely a sprained knee.
"[Brady will] be fine," a source told Roche. "He'll be checked again later on tonight."
On a passing play in 11-on-11 drills, the pocket collapsed around Brady, who lay on the grass for several moments while holding his left knee. Video of the play was posted online by Twitter user @ChadKopcak. In the video, it looks like Nate Solder fell on Brady.
Brady limped off the field, favoring his left knee, but he returned to practice shortly thereafter. However, it didn't last long, as the quarterback continued to keep a close eye on that left knee. He eventually walked off the field, talked with Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels, and left practice with the team trainer. Brady didn't return.
Buccaneers defensive end Adrian Clayborn, who was rushing against Solder on the play, explained what happened after the practice session ended.
"You always have to stay away from the quarterback, but if you have a guy on his heels my instinct is to keep going. That's what I did," Clayborn said. "I bull-rushed [Solder] and apparently he tripped on Brady and fell on him."
When pressed further, Clayborn asked the reporters, "Is this an interview or interrogation?"
Brady, 36, underwent reconstructive surgery on that same knee in 2008 after suffering an injury in Week 1 that cost him the entire season. He has played in all 64 regular-season and seven postseason games since then.
It's obviously impossible to speculate at the moment what the injury is or how severe it may be, but in the event Brady is forced to miss time, Ryan Mallett and Tim Tebow are the other quarterbacks on the roster.
Brady started in the Patriots' preseason opener on Friday night in Philadelphia, playing in two offensive series. He completed seven of eight passes for 65 yards and a touchdown. Mallett left that game prematurely due to a head injury, but he has practiced with the team all week.
