The injury bug hasn’t only impacted New England Patriots players.
Safeties coach Brian Belichick discussed a significant injury that kept him away from the team facility throughout training camp.
“Unfortunately, I sustained a pretty serious knee injury at the beginning of the summer,” Belichick told reporters during a video conference Tuesday, per NESN’s Zack Cox. “I had three surgeries and a long recovery to get back to being functional.”
Brian Belichick speaking with reporters for the first time in several months.
He suffered a serious knee injury early in the summer and said he needed three surgeries. He’s been back in the building for the last month and said he’s able to do all of his usual gameday duties. pic.twitter.com/HsZmGXBIC6
— Zack Cox (@ZackCoxNESN) September 26, 2023
While he wasn’t physically with the team, Belichick said he performed his coaching duties virtually before rejoining practice last month. His brother, linebackers coach Steve Belichick, was among the defensive staffers to keep things running smoothly in his absence.
Brian Belichick, the son of head coach Bill Belichick, said the 2020 season played during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic helped him prepare for working remotely.
“If we hadn’t gone through the experiences with (virtual) meetings, that would have been a pretty jarring change,” Belichick said. “But it made it pretty seamless. It did help. Obviously, it’s still tough … not to be with the players and with the other guys.”
Although he’s still walking in crutches, Belichick said his gameday experience in the coaches’ booth hasn’t changed to start the season.
“I’m happy to be more normal and just trying to win games for the team now.”