TAMPA, Fla. — Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady, who suffered a thumb injury to his right throwing hand in the Bucs’ 45-17 win over the Miami Dolphins Sunday, is expected to play through the injury when the team travels to face the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night.
Brady did not give specifics on the injury, which he sustained early on in the game before throwing for five touchdowns and 411 yards, but he had previously played through a thumb laceration that required 12 stitches in the AFC Championship Game after the 2017 season.
“He went through the full practice,” Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians said Monday. “Had we had a full-speed practice, he probably would have limited his throwing. But he looks like he’ll be fine Thursday.”
Safety Antoine Winfield Jr., who missed last week due to a concussion, returned to practice Monday for the first time since suffering the injury. There’s a possibility he will play Thursday night if he can clear the concussion protocol. The protocol does allow players some limited action in practice toward the later portion of the five-step process.
“He was out there today doing more cognitive stuff — doing the checks and things like that,” Arians said. “So yeah, I think he can [clear the protocol]. Will he? I don’t know yet. We’ll see how this goes.”
As for tight end Rob Gronkowski, who has missed the past two games with fractured ribs, Arians said, “It will be very, very close this week, so we’ll see.” Gronkowski has not returned to practice but has been doing some work on his own.
Arians said that cornerback Carlton Davis, who was placed on injured reserve with a quad injury after Week 4, “does not look like he’ll need surgery, but we have no clue how long this is gonna be.” Arians also said that cornerback Sean Murphy-Bunting, who was placed on injured reserve with a dislocated elbow after Week 1, is “still a few weeks off.”