According to a report by The Sporting News, Tom Brady is showing no restrictions as he continues to recover from reconstructive knee surgery.

Brady was able to return his normal rehabilitation schedule within “10 days to two weeks” after the follow-up procedures, the source said. That means the quarterback is roughly six months into the rehab process.

“He’s full go,” the source said Tuesday. A second source confirmed that assessment.
Brady hasn’t been shy about taking part in the club’s offseason program, giving teammates a close-up look at his progress. Most Patriots players are apprehensive about shedding too much light on player injuries and rehabs, but indications have been uniformly positive.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick last month said Brady had been “doing his offseason work without any limitations.” Owner Robert Kraft has said Brady will wear a brace on the left knee, which is standard for players coming off this type of injury. Both Rivers and Palmer wore knee braces coming off their ailments.

Even if Brady’s rehab is complete, it’s hard to say he has come full circle.

There’s a significant mental mountain a player has to climb in returning to game action. Authorities in sports medicine say it takes roughly two months of live action for a player to fully learn to use his new knee.

Brady has a long way to go, but this is definitely an encouraging sign for him and the Patriots. Obviously New England wouldn’t have traded Matt Cassel to Kansas City in the offseason if they didn’t feel Brady would fully recover from his knee surgery in time for the start of the season.

If he’s fully recovered, there’s no reason to believe the Patriots won’t again be the team to beat in the AFC, as they were before Brady’s injury in Week 1 of last year.

The New England Patriots are apparently unhappy with what doctors quarterback Tom Brady has chosen to do his knee surgery.

The Patriots, as an organization, are upset with the situation because they were clear that they wanted Brady’s surgery done under the direction of doctors of their choosing in Boston, sources told ESPN.

Instead, Brady opted to have the surgery in California by a doctor his family preferred, and now there are major problems. Brady was supposed to be back in New England by now, but a timeline for his return remains unclear.

According to the Herald, Brady is on a six-week course of intravenously administered antibiotics, and is still having follow-up exams at the Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, where the surgery took place.

If the infection is not brought under control, the patellar tendon graft used to replace Brady’s anterior cruciate ligament could become compromised, according to the Herald’s report. If that happens, he will have to undergo another surgery on the ACL. That would reset the clock on his rehabilitation.

Two schools of thought:

1. The Patriots are paying Brady millions of dollars and therefore, almost have the right to tell him what doctors should be operating on his $60 million knee.

2. It’s Brady’s knee. If he wants the operation to be done by Bert and Ernie, than he has every right to get his ass down to Sesame Street whenever he damn well pleases.

Either way, this isn’t good that every week it seems he’s have more “clean up” procedures done. This has to be absolutely freaking out the Patriots.

- Patriots’ QB Tom Brady underwent surgery on Monday to repair the torn ACL and MCL he suffered in Week 1’s win over the Chiefs. Brady’s recovery time is expected to be 6-8 months. (Boston Globe)

- Jeff Garcia is expected to take over the starting quarterback role in Tampa again as Brian Griese continues to battle with an arm injury. Apparently even if Griese were healthy enough to play, Garcia would still get the start this week against division rival Carolina based on his performance last Sunday in Denver. (Tampa Tribune)

- Lions’ QB Jon Kitna will have an MRI on his back after not being able to practice on Wednesday. That means either Dan Orlovsky or Drew Stanton could start this Sunday against the Vikings. Orlovsky apparently has the edge as of right now. (Mlive.com)

- RB Darren McFadden practice with the Raiders on Wednesday, but still might be limited this week. (Oakland Tribune)

- Broncos head coach Mike Shanahan expects WR Eddie Royal to play in Week 6 against the Jaguars despite having an ankle injury. That doesn’t mean Royal is a lock to play, especially considering he missed Wednesday’s practice. (NFL.com)