It was reported recently that Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady played almost all of last season with a torn MCL in his left knee. Per Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times, Brady sustained the injury in his last year with the New England Patriots and it worsened during his first year with the Buccaneers, where he signed a two-year deal worth $50 million last offseason. Despite this, the soon-to-be 44-year-old Brady still led the Buccaneers to their first Super Bowl title since 2002 with a 31-9 triumph over the then-defending champions Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV.
Also, Brady threw a total of 50 touchdown passes in the regular season and in the postseason and ran for four more touchdowns, showing no ill effects from the said injury.
Evans aware that Brady was hurt
During a media conference on Sunday at the start of training camp, wide receiver Mike Evans was asked if he was aware that Brady has a torn MCL last season, per JoeBucsFan.com. The wideout said he was aware that Brady was “hurt, hurt pretty bad” but he did not know that it was a torn MCL. “He’s as tough as you’re going to get. He was battling…But it speaks to as tough as a player he really is,” said Evans, who caught 70 passes for 1,007 yards and 13 touchdowns from Brady in the regular season.
When asked if he saw a change in Brady after he underwent surgery following their Super Bowl win, Evans said he can’t see any difference, but he added that his quarterback “looks very springy and wiry right now.”
Cornerback Carlton Davis was also asked if he knew about Brady’s injury last season, to which he replied “no I didn’t”.
But Davis called Brady a tough guy for playing with that injury last season. “He’s the GOAT, so I wouldn’t expect nothing less from him,” Davis said. Brady, for his part, admitted that he sustained the injury around April and May, even describing it as “pretty serious”. But based on his performance at training camp, Brady looked fine and ready to begin his second season with the Buccaneers, where they will try to defend the Super Bowl title and become the first team to win back-to-back Lombardi trophies since the Patriots did it in 2003-04.
Bucs make roster move
The Buccaneers made several roster moves on Sunday, signing veteran safety Chris Cooper to their training camp roster, per Luke Easterling of USA Today. Cooper, an undrafted free agent in 2018, was on the Denver Broncos’ practice squad last season, but he also played for the Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts and the Cincinnati Bengals. Cooper will try to fight for the No. 4 slot on the depth chart behind Antoine Winfield Jr., Jordan Whitehead and Mike Edwards. Meanwhile, wide receiver Justin Watson will be out for four months after he underwent knee surgery. Last season, Watson was a vital cog in the Buccaneers special teams.
