New England Patriots: Tom Brady expects to play against Eagles

After sitting in the Week 1 of the preseason, it appears like Tom Brady will be ready to go against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday.

The New England Patriots were able to start their preseason on a positive note last week, as they defeated the Washington Redskins. However, it was certainly noticed that Tom Brady did not play in the game.

Generally in Week 1 of the preseason, starting quarterbacks maybe play a series or two before sitting down, but Brady was held out due to a minor back issue. At over 40-years-old, any injury for Brady is going to raise some eyebrows, but this one appears to be minor and nothing to worry about.

On the Kirk and Callahan Show, Brady was asked if he planned on playing Thursday. Here was his response via Doug Kyed of NESN.com.

"“Yeah, absolutely,” Brady said."

This is certainly good news for the Patriots and shows that the back isn’t much of an issue if Brady will be suiting up against the Eagles. In the first week of the preseason, it was Brian Hoyer who played nearly the entire game. Hoyer got plenty of work against the Redskins, and the Patriots would likely want to see that decreased a bit.

With this being the second preseason game, it will likely result in Brady playing for a few drives in the first quarter. The third preseason game is usually the true tune-up for the regular season, but the second should see the starters out there for a good amount of time.

Brady is coming off a great 2017 season in which he won the NFL MVP Award. However, the Patriots have seen a lot of changes and injuries at wide receiver this offseason and early on in training camp.

With all of the new faces, getting game action with them to build chemistry will be very important. Brady is certainly capable of making wide receivers on his team better, but he will have to get used to his new teammates. Luckily, it appears like we will be seeing Brady in action on Thursday.