NFL Rumors: Tom Brady Winds Up On Injury Report With Mystery Calf Ailment

Tom Brady was limited in practice on Wednesday and ended up on the injury report for the New England Patriots — though no one seems to know exactly why.

The Patriots listed Brady as limited with a calf injury on the team’s first practice of the week. As CBS Boston reported, it was not clear where or when he may have suffered the injury, and there was little sign of it as Brady went through the portion of practice open to the media.

“The 42-year-old didn’t show any signs of the injury during the media portion of practice, so chances are he’ll be good to go come Sunday afternoon against the Jets at Gillette Stadium,” the report noted. “Brady looked fine in Sunday’s 43-0 drubbing of the Dolphins in Miami, throwing for 341 yards and three touchdowns. He was only sacked twice in the game, but was hit a few other times.”

Video from Wednesday’s practice showed Brady going through warm-ups with the rest of the team, with no apparent signs of the injury. In a Twitter post, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network described the injury as minor, and it’s not believed to put Brady in any jeopardy of missing Sunday’s game against the New York Jets.

Tom Brady has been close to perfect through his team’s first two games, throwing for 605 yards on a 68.8 completion percentage with five touchdowns and no interceptions. The Patriots as a team have been near-flawless as well, winning their first two games by a combined score of 76-3. The addition of Antonio Brown has cemented the Patriots as favorites to return to the Super Bowl, and Brady seems to show little signs of aging.

Tom Brady (calf) was limited in practice today, per the #Patriots injury report. No noticeable limp during media portion of practice. pic.twitter.com/HcFvcmfdVa

— Chad Amaral (@Chad_Amaral) September 18, 2019

It’s not clear if the calf ailment that put Tom Brady on the injured list could be a lingering issue, or if it could be a bit of gamesmanship from Patriots coach Bill Belichick. As Boston.com noted, the Patriots coach has been famously liberal with adding players to the report, at one point including Brady on the injury list every week for three consecutive years.

As the report noted, the NFL even had to institute changes nearly a decade ago, largely to counter Belichick’s injury list tactics.

“The NFL has altered the format for the injury report, in part because of the Patriots,” the report noted. “On Wednesday and Thursday, teams are required to list injuries and whether a player did not participate in practice, had limited participation, or had full participation. On Friday, the designations switch to the traditional out, doubtful, questionable, and probable.”

It’s not clear yet if Tom Brady will end up with a designation when Friday’s report comes out.