Getty Tom Brady recently opened up about the challenges of recovering from offseason knee surgery.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady admits his body cried ‘no’ amid rehabbing from knee surgery in the offseason.
On the sixth-month anniversary of his surgery, he talked about the challenges he faced in a SiriusXM NFL Radio interview on Aug. 24. Brady played with a torn MCL throughout the 2020 season and had surgery after the Super Bowl.
“When you miss time and you don’t continue to train the way you’re capable of training, it’s tough because your body just wants to, you know, it feels like, ‘Ok, I get time off,'” Brady told SiriusXM via JoeBucsFan.com. “And then when you get your body going again, it’s hard. You’re body’s like, ‘No, no, no, no. We’re not working out. We’re chilling. You know and I’m trying to get it going and it just doesn’t want to do it. So I’ve had to push through different things and even the early part of training camp, just getting my legs under me and getting my football legs.”
CBS Sports Boston described the difference between Brady’s 2020 recovery and 2008 recovery for a torn MCL and ACL as night and day, being that Brady was 31 in 2008. He tore the ACL and MCL in Week 1 of that season with the New England Patriots before returning to the field in 2009.
The latest Bucs news straight to your inbox! Join the Heavy on Bucs newsletter here!
Brady Not Missing a Beat
Brady has played like he didn’t miss a beat at training camp and preseason since the surgery. He shredded the Houston Texans defense in the preseason finale on Aug. 28 with 11-14 passing for 154 yards and a touchdown.
His Aug. 11 performance at training camp dazzled when he completed passes all over the field. Pewter Report detailed his long completions, red zone success, and making plays on the fly from that practice.
“He was outstanding,” Arians said per Pewter Report. “He got the guys going. Was very, very accurate. Just a typical, solid Brady day.”
Brady needed four months of rehab to get back to “a typical, solid Brady day” though, which he didn’t minimize in the SiriusXM interview.
“You know, it was a tough offseason in terms of the rehab. … But I feel like I’m really just now kind of feeling — not from a rehab standpoint but from a football standpoint — like you know my legs are feeling bouncy and ready to go,” Brady said via JoeBucsFan.com. “My arm’s feeling live.”
Brady’s Grueling Practice Routine
Brady runs through a grueling, tightly-packed practice routine at camp, which The Athletic’s Greg Auman detailed in from that Aug. 12 practice. The Bucs quarterback starts with warmups followed by working with skill players in various situations before a cool down during the special teams session. Brady then participates in more seven-on-seven and 11-on-11 sessions to work with skill players followed by individual work right after practice, Auman described.
“Again, when it’s 95 (degrees), you got pads on and the helmet and you’re reading coverages, and the mental strain and the day-after-day and the sleep, it’s just a lot of football conditioning that needs to happen,” Brady told SiriusXM about training camp practices via JoeBucsFan.com. “Even for somebody that’s been doing it as long as me, it’s always a challenge. I think that’s why I love the sport. It’s a continuous mental, physical, emotional challenge. You have to bring it every day.”
READ NEXT: Buccaneers Jersey Change Reveals New Signing, Roster Cut