The Hartford Courant
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – Tedy Bruschi set an aggressive tone early in Patriots’ training camp, hitting rookie tailback Laurence Maroney hard on back-to-back days.
Now the former University of Arizona linebacker will have to sit out for at least a week as he recovers from a wrist injury suffered Monday.
ESPN and the Boston Herald reported that the injury is a fracture, but New England quarterback Tom Brady sounded optimistic.
“Tedy’s been through a whole bunch, so I’m not worried about him at all,” Brady said. “Tedy’s got the most positive attitude of anybody I’ve ever been around. I’m sure it won’t be long before he’s out here.”
Bruschi, 33, who had a stroke in mid-February 2005, returned Oct. 30 against the Bills. He had 72 tackles and two sacks in nine games but injured a calf at the end of the regular season.
Bruschi can play wearing a cast. But with the regular season 38 days away, there’s little reason to rush him.
The problem is that the 2006 plans were to shift Mike Vrabel to outside linebacker and pair Bruschi and Monty Beisel at inside linebacker. An important part of the Patriots’ great run defense in previous years was how well Bruschi and inside linebacker Ted Johnson, who’d played together since 1996, knew each other’s moves.