Add another name to New England's laundry list of banged-up players.
NFL Media's Albert Breer reported Monday that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain after taking a beating in Sunday's loss to the Dolphins.
Armed with the AFC's No. 2 playoff seed, the Patriots don't play again until Saturday, Jan. 16, giving Brady another 12 days to rest the ankle, which he hurt on a crushing hit from defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh. The timing is terrible for New England, but Brady has played through worse.
"I'm pretty sore," Brady said after the game, per ESPN.com, "but it will be all right."
Special-teamer Matthew Slater isn't worried about Brady's status, saying Sunday: "You never want to see 12 get hit, or 12 have an injury, he's so important to our football team ... but that guy's tough as nails. If there is one thing I know about him after playing with him eight years, not too many dudes tougher than him."
The Patriots enter the playoffs as an injury-ravaged club, but we're not worried -- yet -- about Brady's availability for the divisional round. Barring disaster, he'll be ready.
