Brady came out for the second half and was on the sideline briefly before retreating to the locker room for the final two quarters of the Patriots’ 27- 24 victory over the Washington Redskins at FedEx Field.
Tight end Chris Baker was first on the scene after Brady, who said earlier this preseason he wanted to get blown up, was flattened by Haynesworth. Baker helped Brady up and said the quarterback didn’t say anything as they walked off the field.
“Haynesworth is a big guy, so any time you take a hit from him you’re going to be a little slow to get up, but that was about it,’’ said Baker.
As the first responder to Brady’s crushing blow, is Baker concerned about the franchise QB’s health?
“Just any time you see your quarterback get hit you’re concerned or any of your guys on the ground,’’ said Baker. “It was that. He’s a tough guy. I’ve seen him take hits before and obviously he gets back up. It was just one of those things where it was, ‘Let me go get him up and let’s get off the field.’ ’’
During his streak of 128 games played, which was ended in the 2008 season opener, Brady frequently popped up on the injury report as probable because of his shoulder, but he said earlier in camp that after a year away it felt great.
After the game, Patriots coach Bill Belichick was asked whether the blow Brady took forced him to deviate from his game plan, which was to have Brady play into the second half. Belichick said the plan was to get a look at Kevin O’Connell, who entered with 12:21 to go in the third quarter and was 3 of 10 for 18 yards with two interceptions, and Andrew Walter, who led the final series, which ended with Stephen Gostkowski’s winning 30-yard field goal with eight seconds left.
Belichick was equivocal when asked about Brady’s health.
“I’m sure he has some bumps and bruises like everybody else who played in the game,’’ said Belichick.
