New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady took the field to play in Sunday’s AFC Championship game despite fears that a midweek hand injury could keep him benched.
On Sunday morning, Brady was spotted on field warming up without a glove on this right hand – his throwing hand. A piece of black tape could be seen on the hand, however, secured over the area where his reported injury was located.
At game time, he continued to play without a protective glove, indicating that there were no concerns about his ability to grip the ball.
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady took the field Sunday with just a piece of tape on his throwing hand, despite concerns that an injury sustained earlier in the week could leave him benched
During the AFC Championship game against the Jaguars, Brady appeared to have no problems with gripping the ball, a concern that NFL watchers had considering the location of his injury
A half hour into the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, MMQB NFL reporter Albert Breer tweeted that Brady’s ‘hand looks fine.’
On Wednesday, it was reported that Brady injured his right hand during practice while performing a hand off. The extent and exact location of the injury was not clear at the time.
NFL watchers reported that Brady had a collateral ligament sprain on his thumb and required 10 stitches to close the cut on his hand Wednesday, after injuring it against a teammate’s helmet during practice. During Sunday’s game, Brady took the field with just a piece of tape covering the wounded area
Then, on Friday, Brady appeared at a press conference wearing gloves on both hands, all the while refusing to answer specific questions about his hand injury.
He did note that he preferred to play without a glove on this throwing hand.
Prior to Sunday’s game, Breer tweeted that sources told him Brady’s injury was a collateral ligament sprain in his thumb.
In addition to the sprain, ESPN’s Mike Reiss tweeted that sources said that Brady required more than 10 stitches to close the cut, located on the inside of his right throwing hand near the thumb and that it had been ‘a bloody scene’ during practice following the incident.
CBS Sports reported the injury was likely the result of a helmet buckle on a fellow player’s hand was responsible for tearing up Brady’s hand during the handoff.
The San Diego Union-Tribune noted that the placement of the tape seen on Brady’s hand on Sunday morning indicted that his ulnar collateral ligament – key to a good ball grip – was not torn, particularly since there was no splint present.
Brady appeared at a press conference on Friday wearing gloves which hid the extent of his injury. He refused to answer specific questions about the injury at the time