FOXBORO, MASS. (WHDH) - As expected, New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick was man of few words Friday morning when asked about Tom Brady’s hand injury.
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“Today’s Friday,” Belichick said after being asked if Brady would be a game-time decision for Sunday’s AFC Championship game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Brady, 40, hurt himself on Wednesday when he jammed his throwing hand after being accidentally run into by a teammate, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. Brady did not participate in practice on Thursday, showing up on the team’s official injury report with a right hand ailment.
Reports have indicated that Brady’s hand showed no structural damage and that he will play on Sunday with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.
“We gave out the injury report yesterday (Thursday) and we will update it today (Friday),” Belichick said.
Backup signal-caller Brian Hoyer would start Sunday if Brady cannot play.
“Brian does a great job for us,” Belichick said. “He does a good job.”
Hoyer says he is ready to play, but hopes things don’t get to that point.
“If I don’t play that’s good for our time. If I do play, I’m ready to go,” Hoyer said.
Despite the uncertainty surrounding Brady’s status, Belichick says his team is preparing like usual for Jacksonville.
“We’re going to continue to get ready for Jacksonville all the way up until game time,” Belichick said.
A photo taken on the practice field showed Brady was present with his teammates on Friday morning, though it’s not clear if he took part in drills. Brady went through warmups on Thursday, but was held out of everything else.
Brady could be seen wearing a red glove on each hand as he went through warmups with his teammates, hiding any signs of injury. A protective splint was seen on his right thumb.
Brady is slated to speak Friday afternoon. His media availability on Wednesday and Thursday was canceled by the team due to to conflicts with medical treatments.
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