Brady did not speak with reporters yesterday at Gillette Stadium, nor did he walk through the locker room during the 45-minute session open to the media in the late morning. His absence on the practice field left the quarterback work to backups Matt Cassel, a three-year veteran, and Matt Gutierrez, a rookie.
Coach Bill Belichick did not comment when asked before practice if he has concerns regarding Brady's injury.
"The injury report will be out next Wednesday and we're excited to give that to you," Belichick said, smiling. "That form will be filled out completely and I can't wait to give that to everybody."
Sitting out a practice leading into the Super Bowl likely stung Brady, who has often talked about how much he enjoys practice, because each workout provides an opportunity to improve, especially leading into a game Belichick and other players said yesterday was "the biggest of our lives."
In some ways, it's déjà vu to 2002, when Brady injured his left ankle in the AFC Championship game and his status was under the spotlight leading into Super Bowl XXXVI against the Rams.
But in other ways, it's much different, as Brady's condition this time around is much less severe. Team officials remember seeing Brady's ankle swell considerably in 2002, which hasn't been the case with his right ankle this week. Also, there was only one week to prepare for that Super Bowl, while this year there are two, giving Brady the luxury of added rest.
Still, it has been rare for an injury to keep Brady out of practice, and especially games.
The 30-year-old MVP has started 126 consecutive games, 110 in the regular season and 16 in the playoffs. That is the third-longest active streak in the league, behind the Packers' Brett Favre (274) and the Colts' Peyton Manning (174), as well as the third-longest streak by a quarterback in NFL history.
Perhaps because of Brady's ironman history, teammates didn't seem concerned by his condition. Several made light of the considerable attention placed on pictures snapped of Brady in New York Monday, which showed him wearing a protective boot over his right foot.
