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Brady To Have Surgery, Will Miss Season

The Associated Press

New England has not revealed the nature of Brady's knee injury, saying only he will be put on injured reserve.

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The Associated Press

The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 9, 2008

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. - The New England Patriots have come back from injuries before, winning three Super Bowls and reaching a fourth despite losing Rodney Harrison, Richard Seymour, Junior Seau and Drew Bledsoe.

Now they will try to do it without Tom Brady.

The 2007 NFL Most Valuable Player will miss the entire '08 season with a left knee injury that needs surgery, the team said Monday. That leaves the Patriots without one of the game's great quarterbacks and severely damages their hopes of a return trip to the Super Bowl.

Coach Bill Belichick would not say what the injury is, but the play, Brady's reaction and the prognosis all point toward a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

"As a team we all just have to do our jobs. That really doesn't change," Belichick said Monday, a day after Brady's knee collapsed under him when he was hit by Chiefs safety Bernard Pollard in a 17-10 victory over Kansas City. "He played one position, he played it very well. We have somebody else playing that position now."

The Patriots issued a one-paragraph statement that the two-time Super Bowl MVP will have surgery and be placed on injured reserve. That leaves them in the hands of a backup who's barely been tested - in part because of Brady's 128-game starting streak that was the third-longest for a quarterback in NFL history.

Matt Cassel, who guided New England to its 20th consecutive regular-season victory after Brady was hurt, will start Sunday at the New York Jets. It will be the first meaningful start since high school for Cassel, who backed up Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at USC and spent the last three years holding a clipboard for Brady.

"I'm not trying to be Tom Brady. I'm just trying to be Matt Cassel," he said. "I don't know where that's going to take us."

Brady took the Patriots to three NFL titles since 2001 and led them to a perfect record in the regular season last year before a loss in the Super Bowl to the New York Giants.

Pollard apologized to Brady immediately after the play.

Titans Reschedule Test On Young's Injured Knee

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - While defending their quarterback from critics worried about his mental state on Monday, the Tennessee Titans had to reschedule a test on Vince Young's sprained left knee.

Young was intercepted midway through the fourth quarter of the 17-10 win against Jacksonville and walked to the sideline to a chorus of boos. He threw his helmet and sat on a bench with a towel over his head. His defense forced Jacksonville into a three-and-out. The offense went on the field - with Young still on the sideline.

Backup Kerry Collins started taking a couple practice snaps, and Coach Jeff Fisher pulled off his headset to talk with Young. The quarterback then put on his helmet and took the field. Four plays later, he rolled out on a bootleg and Jaguars linebacker Daryl Smith collided with Young's left knee.

CHIEFS: Brodie Croyle has a separated shoulder and Damon Huard will start at quarterback against Oakland.

COWBOYS: Signed quarterback Brooks Bollinger.

JAGUARS: Guard Vince Manuwai is out for the season after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee.

JETS: Veteran kicker Jay Feely signed with New York, according to his agent, Glenn Schwartzman, and will replace the injured Mike Nugent. The Jets need to make a move to open up the roster spot for the former Jesuit High star, but hadn't yet officially announced the signing.

Feely, cut by Kansas City last month just a day after the Chiefs signed him to a one-year deal, is in his eighth NFL season. He was with Miami last season, going 21-for-23 on field-goal attempts and setting a franchise record with a 91.3 field-goal rate.

RAMS: Receiver Drew Bennett fractured his left foot in the first series of Sunday's opener at Philadelphia and will be sidelined at least a month.

SEAHAWKS: Wide receiver Nate Burleson is out for the season with a knee injury.

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