Tom Brady has a long history of playing through shoulder injuries and winning Super Bowls

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady suffered an injury to his left (non-throwing) shoulder against the Carolina Panthers and re-aggravated it against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Brady shouldn’t miss any time since the injury is considered minor.

Brady has also played through shoulder injuries before.

In 2002, Brady suffered a first-degree shoulder separation to his right throwing shoulder in December, before injuring it further in the season finale against the Miami Dolphins and turning it into a second-degree shoulder separation.

Instead of getting surgery on it, Brady tried to rehabilitate it during the offseason. He relied on “painkillers and anti-inflammatories” for all of 2003 and he only practiced once or twice a week. The Patriots won the Super Bowl and Brady finally got surgery on his shoulder.

From 2004-10, Brady was listed on every injury report with a “right shoulder” injury, leading the Patriots to a Super Bowl victory in 2004 and coming up short in 2007. These listings were partially due to the sassiness of Bill Belichick, but Brady was also truly “limited” at times.

In 2011, Brady suffered an injury in week 16 against the Miami Dolphins (STOP IT, MIAMI!), where he received a left (non-throwing) shoulder separation. Brady played the entire postseason with the injury, ultimately coming up short in the Super Bowl after re-aggravating it.

Brady was listed with a shoulder injury four times in 2012, too.

So while the Patriots quarterback might have a minor injury to his non-throwing shoulder, it shouldn’t cause any setbacks from an offensive perspective and he should be fully healed within the month if history is any example.

Brady has reached four Super Bowl while playing with a shoulder injury and won two of them. The Patriots will be fine.