FOXBORO, Mass. — Tom Brady appeared no worse for wear Tuesday morning in his first public appearance since missing last Thursday’s New England Patriots preseason game.
The Patriots quarterback confirmed reports he missed the matchup against the Chicago Bears after slicing his thumb on a pair of scissors shortly before kickoff.
“I was ready to go,” said Brady, who was excused from practice Sunday and Monday for unrelated yet undisclosed reasons. “I had everything on. I was just trying to get something out of my shoe, and the scissors slipped. Just a silly accident.”
Brady later added: “I let out a probably pretty loud word I wouldn’t repeat in front of my kids. Couldn’t believe it. And then I just went and got it checked out.”
Photographer Barry Alley captured a shot of the thumb in question during Brady’s news conference.
Brady, who was scheduled to start the game, said he wanted to play, but Patriots coach Bill Belichick advised him to sit.
“I wanted to go, and Coach said it’s probably best if we just take it easy,” Brady said. “So that’s what I ended up doing.
“I wish I could have played. I’ve been missing playing. I want to get out there with my teammates, and I feel like that’s what my job is and my responsibility is, to be out there with my team. It was tough not to be out there.”
Brady added that if the injury had happened before a regular-season or playoff game, he would have played through it.
“Yeah, I think so,” he said. “There’s only one time I’ve ever missed (a game) for injury (a torn ACL in 2008), and I wanted to go back and play that year, too. I’ve always felt like the team is counting on me to be out there, and I’m going to do everything I can to make sure I’m out there playing.
“I wanted to go (Thursday) night, but I think Coach made a great decision.”
Brady, who will miss the first four games of the regular season as he serves his Deflategate suspension, has yet to take his first preseason snap. He missed New England’s preseason opener against the New Orleans Saints to attend a memorial service for a family member.
“You’d like to, as a guy who’s been here for a long time, show your leadership through example and be out there whenever you can be out there, because that’s what the team’s counting on,” Brady said. “That’s a crappy way to not be out there, because it’s a silly mistake, but I’m glad it wasn’t in the regular season.
“I learned from it, and hopefully I won’t be operating any more scissors for a while.”
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
