Patriots QB Tom Brady says sprained right ankle 'feeling better'

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said Wednesday that his sprained right ankle is making progress.

"Feeling better. Better than I was a couple days ago," Brady remarked in a short, four-minute news conference in which he walked to the podium without a noticeable limp. Brady sprained his ankle in Sunday's 20-10 loss to the Miami Dolphins when defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh landed on him early in the second quarter.

Brady was also present at Wednesday's light walkthrough practice.

On Monday, Brady said, "Suh is a big guy, and he just came down on the back of me. Obviously, however big he is, 300 pounds, and he just kind of collapses on the back of your legs, there is going to be some residual damage to that. It's part of football.

"I'll just work hard to get the right treatment. I've always dealt with injuries. I'm very confident I know how to deal with injuries. Believe me, I'll be doing everything I can to be out there. There is nothing else in my life that's a priority at this point other than getting to feel like I'm 100 percent."

ESPN NFL Insider Adam Schefter reported that Brady is expected to play in the playoffs.

"I just try to do my best to help our team win. That's what my goal is. As mentally focused as I can be on that, it will help our team win," he said. "We've all worked pretty hard to get to this point. I read a cool quote the other day that said, 'I didn't come this far to only come this far.' We still have further to go."

Brady pointed out that the Patriots haven't had a bye week since the fourth week of the regular season.

"This is the first time we've had off in quite a while. A lot of guys have been fighting through different bumps and bruises over the course of the season, so you try to take advantage of it the best you can to feel good, because we're going to need everybody a week from Saturday to be at their very best," he said.

"It's a lot of time kind of obviously preparing, there are a lot of different scenarios, so you try to do your best mentally to get ready and physically you have to put as much effort as you can to make yourself feel better."

The Patriots will host a divisional-round playoff game Jan. 16 against either the Cincinnati Bengals, Houston Texans or Kansas City Chiefs.