Not a whole lot has been made of Tom Brady’s appearance on the Patriots’ injury report over the last few weeks.
Eric Mangini, however, seems to believe the ailment New England’s quarterback is dealing with is more serious than he and his team are leading on.
Brady (calf) was listed as a limited practice participant in the weeks leading up to the Patriots’ matchups with the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills. In the middle of these two divisional clashes was New England’s surprising signing of QB Cody Kessler. Mangini, who served five seasons on New England’s coaching staff, thinks the decision to acquire Kessler might have had something to do with Brady’s health.
“…I’d say my biggest concern is the injury to Tom Brady in the fact that he’s missing time during practice and the fact that they’re bringing Cody Kessler in,” Mangini said Monday on FS1’s “Undisputed.” “They don’t bring in three quarterbacks. They don’t operate in a three-quarterback system unless there’s an issue that’s a little bit bigger, so that to me is the concern that I have.
“For them to bring in Kessler, I would imagine that he (Brady) has a legitimate injury and that’s where my biggest concern is. It’s a calf, and look, they’re going to be listed as limited in practice, but you can rep a guy once or twice and say they’re limited in practice. I mean, there’s ways to present that.”
Mangini’s sentiments probably shouldn’t spark fear among Patriots fans. Brady last week explained the benefit of being limited in practice, as a lightened workload during the middle of the week puts him in a better position to be productive on gamedays. After all, the 42-year-old no longer is a “spring chicken,” as he put it.
As for Kessler, his signing might have had to do more with Jarrett Stidham than Brady. With another veteran in New England’s quarterback room, Stidham theoretically now is in a better situation to be groomed and polished in his rookie season. The full burden of duties that come with being a backup signal-caller no longer falls entirely on the 2019 fourth-rounder.
So while Brady’s injury probably shouldn’t be completely disregarded, it might not be as big of a deal as Mangini suspects.
