Turns out, the knee injury Tom Brady was playing through during the 2021 postseason wasn't anything new. In fact, he had been dealing with it all season.
Brady, in his first season with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was dealing with a "nagging nuisance" of a knee, Bucs quarterback coach Clyde Christensen indicated Thursday.
"I don't think he was 100 percent last year," Christensen said, via ESPN. "His quote, or close to a quote was, 'Hey, I'm gonna get my knee fixed up and I'm gonna be better next year and you're gonna be excited about that.'
"Performance-wise, you wanna feel good. I think that thing was a nagging nuisance to him, having to tape it every day, just make sure he had that thing loose. So I think he's excited about just feeling good again."
That ailment ended up requiring surgery -- his first in over a decade -- shortly after the season ended. He's on the mend though, going through some "intense rehab" that should position him to be ready for the start of the upcoming season. He is not taking part in OTAs, but the expectation is he will be present for minicamp, which begins next week.
No matter what, knowing what we do know about the injury makes it all the more impressive that Brady led the Bucs to a Super Bowl last season.
