In his 20 years in the NFL, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has seen so many tough battles en route to six Super Bowl titles. During that span, Brady has missed only one season due to an ACL injury in 2008. Since then, Brady has displayed his durability as he never missed a game due to injury. At 42 years old, Brady is showing that he can compete with much younger players as he led the Patriots to a 10-2 record this season. So it came as no surprise when NFL insider Jay Glazer of Fox Sports and The Athletic picked the battle-grizzled Brady as the "toughest player in the NFL today".
In his mailbag for The Athletic published Tuesday, Glazer pointed to Brady when asked by a reader who he thinks is the toughest player in the NFL. In his reply, Glazer said toughness can be defined either as “physically” or “cerebrally.” According to Glazer, Brady’s toughness is on full display with the fact that he’s still playing at this level despite his age.
Glazer also lauded Brady’s football intelligence and his heart, saying they have placed him above any other player in the NFL. “What he has between his ears and behind his ribcage, it’s just different. He’s durable, he’s as tough as they come,” said Glazer. Earlier, former NFL star defensive end Marcellus Wiley stressed that Brady should continue playing and leave the NFL on his own terms.
Hall of Fame quarterback Brett Favre likewise said that Brady’s age has nothing to do with his performance this season and the Patriots’ offensive woes are a result of many factors.
Brady on injury report with toe, elbow issues
Brady made an appearance on Wednesday’s injury report with a toe injury, in addition to the elbow issue that landed him in last week’s list.
According to Justin Leger of NBC Sports, Brady’s injury doesn’t appear to be serious as he was a full participant in Wednesday’s practice for their clash with the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday at Gillette Stadium. Defensive lineman Byron Cowart and offensive lineman Ted Karras both did not participate in practice due to head and knee injuries, respectively.
Linebacker Ja'Whaun Bentley (knee), offensive tackle Marcus Cannon (illness), safety Patrick Chung (heel), wide receiver Julian Edelman (shoulder), cornerback Jason McCourty (groin) and wide receiver Mohamed Sanu (ankle) were limited in practice.
Colts beat Patriots for kicker’s services
The Patriots are in need of a kicker following the release of Kai Forbath, who played just one game for New England. The Patriots were reportedly interested in kicker Chase McLaughlin, who was placed on the waiver wire after he was released by the San Francisco 49ers. However, the Patriots were beaten to the punch by the Indianapolis Colts for McLaughlin’s services. The Patriots signed Forbath after Nick Folk underwent an emergency appendectomy. Folk is expected to make an immediate recovery and could return to the Patriots anytime soon.
