For several days, so much focus has been given to the injured hand of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, no one bothered to identify the player who caused it. Three days after, the culprit behind the cut on Brady’s hand was finally named. Mike Garafolo of NFL Media told Good Morning Football that running back Rex Burkhead inflicted the cut on Brady’s hand. Garafolo said Burkhead collided with Brady as they were doing some kind of hand-off during a drill. “I don't know exactly what happened, but it resulted in a cut. There was blood all over the place and it was significant,” said Garafolo.
The cut caused Brady to miss Thursday’s practice while he was still limited during Friday’s session. On Wednesday, Brady missed his scheduled media conference due to the injury.
Stitches needed to close Brady’s cut
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network Insider, the cut required stitches to close, but Brady looked good during Friday’s practice. Rapoport said a source told him that “he was "zinging it pretty good” during the session. Garafolo, for his part, reported that Brady will be good to go when they take on the Jacksonville Jaguars in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. A source also told NESN.com that Brady will “be good” to play Sunday. In Friday’s press conference, Brady was wearing gloves on both hands.
The 40-year-old quarterback did not take questions about his injury but answered, “we’ll see,” when asked if he will play on Sunday. Patriots head coach Bill Belichick only referred reporters to the team’s injury report when asked about Brady’s status.
Jaguars preparing for Brady
While Brady’s status for Sunday is unclear, the Jaguars’ preparation remains the same, with head coach Doug Marrone expecting the veteran quarterback to play Sunday.
“No, Tommy will play,” Marrone said, "we know that.” Marrone even joked that Brady can also throw with his left hand and make a completion. In Las Vegas, Brady’s injury has some bettors putting their money on the Jaguars. According to Michael David Smith of Pro Football Talk, the betting trend in Sin City has been mostly on the Jaguars since it was revealed that Brady has a hand injury.
The Patriots opened as a 9-point favorite, but their odds of winning dropped to 7 to 7.5 points in six major Las Vegas sports books. VegasInsider.com also placed the Patriots as a -7.5 favorites over the Jaguars, who clinched a spot in the AFC title game after beating the heavily favored Pittsburgh Steelers, 45-42.
