Many announcements have been made across sports newscasting sites that New England’s former quarterback, Tom Brady, is behind schedule with his recovery.

Brady tore the ACL and MCL in his left knee during the first quarter of the season’s first game: bad luck if you ask me. In early October, he underwent surgery to repair his injuries, but it was later revealed that he obtained a severe infection. The infection, which was discovered in October, set Brady back another six to eight weeks filled with antibiotics and more surgeries to clean up the original infected injury.

According to NBC.com’s Tom Curran, “The infection finally cleared but as it currently stands, both the ACL and MCL remain “loose,” the league source said. Meanwhile, scar tissue that built up in the knee as Brady’s body battled the infection is still present and might need to be surgically removed.

Additionally, because of the scar tissue, Brady’s knee doesn’t have close to full mobility, the league source said. That means the process of regaining strength in his quadriceps – the most important muscle to build up after a knee injury – hasn’t begun in earnest.”

As this information stands, it looks as if Brady will not be returning for the rest of the season and possibly the 2009 season as well. He will need more surgeries and, of course, will have to undergo rehabilitation, which has not begun. This leaves one giant problem for the New England Patriots. Matt Cassel, the backup quarterback now in play while Brady is out of the game, will go up as a free agent at the end of the season.

New England has to make a choice. Stick with Cassel, and let Brady go, or do the exact opposite and let Cassel go, but stick with Brady.

It’s worthy of noting that most players after a serious knee injury don’t rebound to their full potential after returning, although it is possible. In Brady’s situation, it is very unlikely that his knee will be as mobile as it once was, and this one injury also has opened up many avenues to more in the future.

Matt Cassel has put up some great stats over the 2008 season, especially when you look at the fact that he didn’t play in a game before he stepped on the field since high school. He is without a doubt a very good football player.  Though not as great as Brady was, I’m sure he will do for New England’s future. After all, Belichek is obviously good at defining the potential of team rookies as we saw with Brady.

Only time will tell, as New England will decide what to do before the season is up.

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