Patriots quarterback Tom Brady will undergo surgery on an injured left knee and miss the rest of the season, the team announced Monday.
"After extensive tests this morning, it was revealed that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's left knee, which was injured in the first quarter of yesterday's game, will require surgery," the team said in a statement. "He will be placed on injured reserve and will miss the remainder of the 2008 season."
Amid reports that Brady had torn his anterior cruciate ligament, Matt Cassel said Monday he was ready to fill in for Brady next week against the New York Jets.
Cassel, who stepped in for Brady after the NFL's reigning MVP injured his left knee in the first quarter of Sunday's game against Kansas City, replaced him on his scheduled radio appearance Monday.
"I'm not trying to be Tom Brady. I'm just trying to be Matt Cassel," he said the morning after leading the Patriots to a 17-10 win over the Chiefs. "I don't know where that's going to take us."
"You hate to see anybody miss time, but when they do it provides an opportunity for somebody else,"
Cassel said on WEEI that he hadn't talked to Brady, though the two had exchanged text messages.
Cassel wasn't asked about Brady's injury.
Brady, 31, went to the locker room and wasn't seen again on the sideline as Cassel led the Patriots to a 17-10 victory.
The two-time Super Bowl MVP was not available for comment after the game, and coach Bill Belichick said after the game he had nothing to add to the in-game announcement from the Patriots that it was a knee injury.
A Patriots player told ESPN analyst Trent Dilfer after the game, "Cassel's our quarterback for the rest of the year."
Brady was 7-for-11 for 76 yards, completing a 28-yard pass to Randy Moss on the play in which he was injured. Moss fumbled the ball away when he was tackled; the Patriots forced Kansas City to punt, then Cassel came in for New England.
"Since I've been here and been around Tom, he's always popped back up," Cassel said. "I didn't know [how serious it was]. I just buckled my chinstrap and the guys rallied around me. I felt their support."
Cassel took over at his 2 yard-line and, after two handoffs nearly netted the Chiefs a safety, completed his first pass to Moss for a 51-yard gain. Cassel, Brady's backup for the past three years, finished the 98-yard drive with a 10-yard touchdown pass to Moss that gave New England a 7-0 lead.
"This is something I've been preparing for a long time," said Cassel, who threw just 33 passes while backing up Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer and Matt Leinart at Southern Cal. "It's not something I expected to come up on opening day."
The team will bring in quarterback Chris Simms for a workout Monday. ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported the Patriots will also look at journeyman Tim Rattay.
When the Patriots drafted Brady in the sixth round in 2000, the decision was between Brady and Rattay. The Patriots took Brady because he is taller (6 feet 4 to Rattay's 6 feet).
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