Quarterback Tom Brady did several amazing things during his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. At age 43, Brady captured his seventh Super Bowl ring after he led the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl win since 2002. With their 31-9 triumph over the then-defending champions Kansas City Chiefs, the Buccaneers became the first team in NFL history to win the Lombardi Trophy in its home field. While many thought that was amazing, it was discovered that Brady was playing last season with a partially torn medial collateral ligament in his left knee that he sustained in his final season with the New England Patriots, per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times.

In his report, Stroud said the injury worsened during Brady’s first year with the Buccaneers but it never prevented him from leading his team to victory. So after the Super Bowl, Brady underwent surgery to repair the MCL. In a separate tweet, Ian Rapoport of NFL Media revealed that Brady’s injury was more serious than a partially torn MCL, saying it was a fully torn MCL.

In his past interviews, Brady refused to provide details about his knee surgery, but he confirmed that it was “pretty serious.” After the Buccaneers mini-camp last month, Brady added that he sustained the injury before taking his first snap with the Buccaneers in last season’s training camp.

“It was an injury I dealt with really since last, you know, April, May,” Brady revealed. Despite this, Brady’s name did not appear on the injury report the entire season.

Brady happy with his decision to undergo surgery

Brady said he’s happy about his decision to undergo surgery, saying the knee problem prevented him from doing some things last year.

“I feel like there’s some things I’ll be able to do this year that I wasn’t able to do last year,” said Brady. Despite the knee injury, Brady threw for 4,633 yards with 40 touchdowns and 12 interceptions as he led the Buccaneers to an 11-5 record in the regular season. The veteran quarterback also added 1,061 passing yards and 10 touchdowns with three interceptions in four postseason games.

He also ran for a total of four touchdowns, including three in the regular season. With a healthy Brady, the Buccaneers are expected to repeat as Super Bowl champions in the upcoming season. The Buccaneers have signed all of their 22 starters and added some weapons, like running back Giovani Bernard.

Bucs to honor Monte Kiffin

The Buccaneers will honor their long-time defensive coordinator Monte Kiffin, who will be enshrined in the Buccaneers Ring of Honor on Sept. 19, per Carmen Vitali of Buccaneers.com. The ceremony will be held before the Buccaneers take on the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2 at Raymond James Stadium. "It's got about bring a tear to your eye but I'm not gonna do that," Kiffin said during a press conference.
© ALL RIGHTS RESERVED