A month after Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians suggested quarterback Tom Brady could be sidelined until June because of postseason knee surgery, all indications are that Brady is on track for a full recovery. As ESPN's Jenna Laine reported Thursday, Bucs general manager Jason Licht said this week that the reigning Super Bowl MVP is progressing "very well" in his rehabilitation, though Licht declined to put a timetable on Brady's return to the field.
"I talked to him last week," Licht said, per ESPN. "I know things are going well. I don't want to put an exact timeline on it right now because I don't want to set expectations one way or the other, but I know that things are going very well."
Laine also reports that Brady's postseason operation had been scheduled for months and "was not a surprise." The surgery was initially reported as a "minor cleanup" after the 43-year-old QB played all 16 games in 2020. Arians, however, indicated in February that Brady could be sidelined at least four months while recovering, meaning the future Hall of Famer could miss organized team activities in May. He also noted that Brady, entering his 22nd NFL season, wouldn't necessarily need them.
Since coming into the league in 2000, Brady has only missed games due to injury once, sitting out all but one contest in 2008 because of a torn ACL. He's expected to be back on the field well in advance of the Buccaneers' 2021 kickoff in September.
