First, Tom Brady popped up on the injury report last week with a knee issue. Then he didn't practice Friday due to both illness and his knee problem. And on Sunday, he suffered a cut on his right thumb against the Jets.
But the Patriots quarterback gave a positive update about his knee on Monday night.
"I'm certainly doing better this week," Brady told Jim Grady in his weekly interview on Westwood One radio. "We had the game against Tennessee where I got a little nicked up and then had the bye week and was hoping to have a full week of practice, and it just didn't allow for it. I'm feeling a lot better. A little flu has been going around, but I'm feeling a lot better and hopefully I really turned the corner with my knee this week."
Brady hasn't missed any games due to injury since his lost season in 2008, but says he's not particularly worried about his knee getting worse at this point.
"It can definitely heal, but my take on injuries is you're really susceptible every time you go out. You can go out, be a little nicked up and if you get hit again, you could make it worse. But the reality is, you could wait for it to get fully healthy, and then go out and take a hit and get hurt again. If I can play, that's what I'm going to always prefer to do and that's what I've always done. And I realize there are risks that come with playing when you're not fully healthy or when you're not fully healed, but that's part of the nature of the game.
"I think in many ways, it would hurt me more to not be playing and watching than it would be to deal with whatever I'm dealing with."
Brady has the rest of the week to get ready for a Vikings defense that's tied for third in the NFL with 36 sacks this season.
New England Patriots
Find the latest New England Patriots news, highlights, analysis and more with NBC Sports Boston.
Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Celtics easily on your device.