It looks like the honeymoon phase is already done for Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Just a week after hoisting the Lombardi Trophy following his team’s victory in Super Bowl 55, Brady is already getting set for a minor surgery on his knee sometime this offseason, a source confirmed to ESPN after the story was first reported by the Tampa Bay Times.
It remains unclear which of Brady’s 43-year-old knees will go under the knife at this time.
Brady had apparently been playing through his knee ailment for a while now, and had been planning the procedure for at least a couple of months, a source close to the situation told ESPN.
The Greatest Of All-Time had not been listed on head coach Bruce Arians’ injury report all season. Brady did get several practice days off throughout the campaign as other veterans like defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh did, and the Super Bowl 55 MVP was also seen sporting a knee brace during the Bucs’ insane boat parade along the Hillsborough River last week. These occurrences are common for Brady, however, who often wears the brace to golf, and so they didn’t raise any red flags about any real issue with Brady’s health.
Though details on the nature of the injury remain unknown, we can expect based on the ‘minor’ tag that Brady won’t be missing any significant team activities and will more-than-likely be ready to rock by the time training camp rolls around this summer.
Brady is coming off of a truly historic season during which he switched teams and led a franchise to their first playoff appearance in 13 years on their way to the franchise’s second Super Bowl title. The future Hall of Famer now has more Super Bowl rings than any one franchise, and he also racked up his fifth Super Bowl MVP trophy, though the play of Tampa’s defensive line was the real reason his team emerged victorious against the juggernaut of Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs offense.
If you’re looking to put down a very early wager on next season’s Super Bowl winner, odds are already up on sportsbooks such as 888sport. As of now, the Chiefs are sitting as +500 NFL odds favorites to come back and exorcise their Super Bowl demons next season, while Brady and his defending champion Buccaneers sit second with very intriguing +800 odds to win the Super Bowl.
Brady doesn’t seem to be slowing down, and with the cache of weapons at his disposal and a defense that seems as though it’s only going to get better, +800 odds to win Super Bowl 56 could be a great bet for anyone with a decent amount of patience.
