National Football League

Tom Brady returns to practice, expected to play in Patriots' opener

Published Sep. 5, 2014 11:25 a.m. ET

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Tom Brady is practicing again with the New England Patriots and looking forward to playing in the season opener.

The star quarterback returned to practice Friday after a one-day absence that the team attributed to a calf injury. Brady was wearing sweatpants during the warmup period that was open to reporters.

The Patriots open the season on Sunday at the Miami Dolphins.

Brady's status was officially listed as "questionable" on the injury report Friday, a designation indicating there's a 50-50 chance he will play.

But during an interview on Westwood One Sports Radio at halftime of Thursday night's game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers, Brady said, "Anything can happen for anybody between now and then, but I'm looking forward to playing Sunday."

He also said, "I'll be ready to go. Physically, I had the day off, but I got a lot of extra film (watching) in. I got a lot of mental reps in."

Coach Bill Belichick shed little light on Brady's situation.

Asked Friday if he knew how Brady hurt his calf, Belichick said before the injury report came out, "We've done everything we're required to do. We've listed the injury. We'll continue to list it and we'll list his status based on what the requirements of the league are, just like we do with every other player."

Tight end Rob Gronkowski, who underwent knee surgery in January, also was listed as questionable but said Monday he would play in the opener. The next day, though, Belichick said, "With all due respect to Rob, I'm glad he feels the way he does.

"But, in the end, we'll have to make the decision that we feel is best for the team and we'll do that as we go through the week."

All players on the 53-man roster were at practice Friday.

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