Buccaneers QB Tom Brady had partial MCL tear in 2020?

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterbacks coach Clyde Christensen raised eyebrows in June when he suggested that quarterback Tom Brady was never "100%" throughout the 2020 season. Of course, the season ended with the Buccaneers defeating the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV. 

Brady confirmed in early March he underwent surgery on his left knee shortly after he earned his seventh career championship ring, and Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Times now reports the 43-year-old future Hall of Famer played with a partially torn medial collateral ligament in that knee. He reportedly first injured the knee during the 2019 campaign, his last with the New England Patriots. 

Interestingly, Ben Volin of the Boston Globe reported in February Brady needed "more than a clean-up" on the knee and said a source added about the injury: "When it comes out, all this does is build his legend even greater."

Meanwhile, Brady told Christensen the morning after the Super Bowl he was "gonna be better next year" following the procedure. 

Last month, after Brady said his knee problems began during the spring of 2020, Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio explained the Buccaneers could face fines for failing to disclose Brady's issue on an injury list once last season. Such punishments could come later this year or not at all.