New England Patriots fans know that Tom Brady is tough, but they'll have a whole new appreciation for his toughness after new details were revealed about his hand injury in January of 2018.
Jeff Benedict's upcoming book titled, "The Dynasty", includes a behind-the-scenes look at the injury Brady suffered in practice the week of the 2017 AFC Championship Game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Brady suffered the injury on a handoff with running back Rex Burkhead.
The New York Post shared an excerpt from the book that details the serious nature of the injury, reaction from people involved and an interaction between Brady and Burkhead.
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Perhaps the most interesting part of the excerpt is when Brady asked Dr. Matthew Leibman to trim the sutures treating the wound because they were preventing the veteran quarterback from having an ideal grip on the ball. Dr. Leibman didn't want to do it at first, but Brady was persistent.
Keep in mind the following dialogue happened a short while before kickoff of the AFC title game.
“Tom, my biggest concern is that the sutures are going to unravel and it’s going to split open.”
“I trust you,” Brady said.
“I really don’t want to touch them.”
“You need to do it.”
It was a negotiation that Leibman knew he was losing. He reached for a pair of suture scissors and peeled back the bandage over Brady’s wound.
“Tom, we really shouldn’t do this,” he said.
“No, you need to do it.”
Dr. Leibman went to work, and when he was done, Brady joined his teammates on the field.
New England Patriots
It's remarkable Brady played against the Jaguars. And not only did he suit up, he led the Patriots to a 24-20 comeback win and a berth in Super Bowl LII. Two weeks later, Brady threw for a Super Bowl record 505 yards against the Philadelphia Eagles, but New England lost 41-33.
Check out the New York Post article linked above to read the full excerpt from "The Dynasty" for even more details on Brady's injury.