The closer we get to Sunday and the AFC Championship Game between the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots, and the more information we’re seeing about how Tom Brady hurt his hand.
Earlier on Friday, we wrote up on a report that Brady had to get four stitches for a cut on his right hand and that the injury was a bloody mess when it happened. Now comes a bit more information about how it happened, per Tom Curran of NBC Sports Boston, who did say there was a caveat in that this is just what he’s hearing, not an official report from team sources.
“Brady’s right thumb bent back badly when he was smashed into by a running back. Somehow, the ball got jammed back into the webbing between his thumb and index finger and it caused a cut. Might have been the laces. There may be stitches. He’s not taking snaps under center. He can take them in shotgun. He’s trying not to aggravate the thumb between now and kickoff so the reps are at a minimum. He can throw. I have no idea how hard, how far or how accurately.”
The interesting parts of this are that Brady is not taking snaps under center. New England does a ton of work, particularly in the run game, from under center. Brady can play any style that is required, meaning playing from shotgun all game — if that’s what is needed — won’t necessarily spell doom for New England’s offense. But it would seriously curtail what Josh McDaniels could call.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how this all plays out on Sunday. One thing we know for certain is that, if Brady does run into trouble, the Patriots have a secret weapon up their sleeve in the form of a former quarterback who said he still has gas left in the tank for any emergency.