The mystery of Tom Brady's knee injury has apparently been solved.
The Tampa Bay Times and NFL Network reported Thursday that Brady played last season with a fully torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee. According to the Times report, Brady sustained the injury the previous season while playing with the New England Patriots.
Brady had surgery to repair the MCL tear in February after leading the Bucs to a Super Bowl win over the Kansas City Chiefs. That Brady had suffered a knee injury and underwent surgery was previously reported. The revelation of the MCL tear and that he sustained it while playing for the Patriots is new.
What we knew before about Brady's knee
Details about Brady's injury have trickled out over the course of months since his February surgery was initially reported. Bucs head coach Bruce Arians described the procedure as a "cleanup" when he announced Brady's surgery on Feb. 11.
It was later reported that the surgery would sideline Brady until June with the Boston Globe's Ben Violin reporting that it was "more than just a little cleanup." Brady confirmed during June minicamp that he knew last offseason that he would eventually need surgery. But he remained tight-lipped about the nature of the injury, telling reporters he's "a little bit old school" on that front.
"It was an injury I dealt with really since last April, May," Brady told reporters at minicamp. "I knew I would have to do something at the end of the year. Happy I did it.
"Something that certainly needed to be done. And there was a great outcome. I'm happy about that. I feel I'll be able to so some different things this year than I was able to do last year."
Brady has looked fine since knee surgery
Brady recovered enough by late May to host drills with some of his passing game teammates away from Bucs facilities. He reportedly didn't "skip a beat" at minicamp in June after he sat out voluntary workouts amid an ongoing conflict between the NFL and NFLPA. Last week, he played 18 holes of golf in a televised charity match.
Brady finished last season completing 65.7% of his passes for 4,633 yards with 40 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while starting all 16 regular season games. He led the Bucs to their second and his seventh Super Bowl championship in the postseason.
Bookmakers don't seem too concerned about Brady's knee. The Bucs are listed at +700 to win the Super Bowl next season, second only to the favored Chiefs (+450).
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