Tom Brady's right hand injury likely won't stop him from playing in the AFC title game, but that doesn't mean it won't affect his ability to grip and throw the football against the Jaguars' elite defense. Three days before the big game, Brady missed practice.
On Wednesday, Brady's injury led to limited participation at practice. On Thursday, Brady didn't participate at practice, according to the Patriots' official injury report.
Brady was, however, spotted wearing a glove on his right hand. His thumb is looking bulkier than usual in the photo below, right?
#tb12 Tom Brady wears a glove on his injured throwing hand as he speaks with backup Brian Hoyer @Patriots practice. #bostonheraldpic.twitter.com/FchnDWfFzB
— Matt West (@westipix) January 18, 2018
Zoomed in on @Westipic so you don't have to. That's a bulky looking thumb Tom Brady's got, no? pic.twitter.com/yIxDa7ZKY3
— Michael Giardi (@MikeGiardi) January 18, 2018
Keep in mind that Brady is a quarterback who does not prefer to wear a glove.
Tom Brady (from Dec. 29, 2017, on how he feels about wearing gloves during games with the weather in mind): "Early in my career I tried using a glove on my throwing hand a little bit. It didn’t go too well. I think it’s better without."
— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) January 18, 2018
So, in a span of 24 hours, we've gone from DEFCON 5 to DEFCON 4 to DEFCON 3.
When the Patriots announced that Brady would miss his scheduled press availability to spend time with team doctors on Wednesday, nobody seemed overly concerned. This wasn't the first time Brady was rescheduling his weekly press conference with reporters. We were still at DEFCON 5.
But when the Patriots announced an hour later that Brady was limited at practice with the right hand injury -- his throwing hand -- the alarm bells began ringing. We were at DEFCON 4, even if every report indicated that Brady would be OK to play in Sunday's game. In the immediate aftermath, Karen Guregian of the Boston Herald reported that Brady jammed his hand when someone accidentally ran into him and that X-rays showed no structural damage.
We're now at DEFCON 3 with Brady unable to practice on Thursday. Nobody expects Brady to miss the game, but it's not crazy to wonder if his injury could affect his ability to be effective against a Jaguars defense that can generate pressure and takeaways at a high rate. It's no longer inconceivable to think this fluke hand injury could be the thing that derails the Patriots' dreams of winning a second straight Super Bowl.
Heck, the Patriots have even gone from nine-point favorites to 7.5-point favorites all because of Brady's hand.
Tom Brady injury news has moved the Patriots from -9 to -7.5. pic.twitter.com/Sjn0FPTdBz
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) January 18, 2018
Brady will speak with reporters on Friday, but nobody should expect him or anyone else on the Patriots to be forthcoming about the severity of the injury. We'll likely have to wait until Sunday to find out just how much the injury restricts him from doing what he does best.
You can stream Sunday's AFC Championship Game on CBSSports.com.
