Tom Brady back with Patriots

For the first time since his season ending knee injury Tom Brady is back with the New England Patriots.  Brady joined his teammates in Foxboro, MA and has been working out with them as he continues to rehab his injury.  Despite the loss of Brady, the Patriots have fared reasonably well with understudy Matt Cassel under center and have scrapped their way to a 6-3 record despite a slew of other injuries.

The Patriots have never publically confirmed Brady’s injury due to team policies but every indication is that he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament and a torn medial collateral ligament.   Brady was hit by Kansas City’s Bernard Pollard in the first quarter of New England’s opening day victory over the Chiefs.  He initially underwent surgery on October 8th to repair the structural damage to his knee.

On October 18th, Brady reported on his blog that he’d been forced to undergo a second operation to clean out the repaired area of his knee after suffering an infection.  The Boston Herald has reported since then that Brady has gone under the knife twice more to battle the infection and has been put on a six week regimen of intravenous antibiotics.  The post surgery complications angered the Patriots, as Brady had used his personal doctor against the wishes of the team who wanted him to be treated by a doctor of their choice in the Boston area.

Brady arrived back in the Bay State on November 4th and has been keeping a low profile with the media.  He’s reportedly been working out with his teammates in the training room, but clears out during the times the facility is open to the media.  The only sign of his presence thus far has been a big black knee brace visible in front of his locker.  The prognosis now is good and reports indicate that fears of serious complications due to the post surgery infection have subsided.

Brady’s teammates are also happy to have their star QB back in the “family”, even if he’s a long way from being ready to play.  Defensive end Jarvis Green commented on Brady’s positive presence in the locker room:

"It's good to see him around, hanging out, smiling. It looks like he's in a good mood. I just spoke to him a few times, joked with him, but it looks like he's OK."

Running back Kevin Faulk echoed Green’s sentiments and contradicted media reports that Brady had been out of touch with the team:

"It's always good to see a teammate, especially if they're injured, and just talking to him and getting insights on what he's seen. He's always been contactable. I talked to him pretty much every other week. It's just, 'How are you doing?’ He’s doing good"

BenJarvus Green-Ellis summed up Brady’s importance as a team leader:

"I haven't seen him today. I just like to hear his voice. I like the sound of his voice. ... He's Brady. He's cool. He's real cool."