Report: Buccaneers’ Tom Brady Needed ‘Entire Offseason’ to Recover from Knee Surgery

AP Photo/Eric Christian Smith

Though limited information has come out about Tom Brady’s knee surgery following the Super Bowl, Jeff Howe of The Athletic reported it was more significant than some have believed.

“It was serious enough that the recovery spanned his entire offseason,” Howe reported.

It was initially referred to as a minor procedure in February with head coach Bruce Arians calling it a “cleanup.”

The quarterback later referred to it as a “pretty serious knee surgery” in May.

Brady led the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to a Super Bowl title despite his injury, winning Super Bowl MVP in the process. He is now seeking his eighth career title after a long road back following his surgery.

“It was an injury I dealt with really since last April, May,” Brady said of his knee in June. “I knew I’d have to do something at the end of the year, and happy I did it. It was probably something that certainly needed to be done and there was a great outcome, so I’m very happy about that. I feel I’ll be able to do some different things this year than I was able to do last year.”

He returned to training camp in June and worked his way back to game action, appearing in two preseason games.

Unlike many starters across the NFL, Brady played extensively in the final preseason game and finished 11-of-14 for 154 yards and a touchdown against the Houston Texans.

The 44-year-old is seemingly now back to full strength heading into the season-opening game against the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night.