Patriots

Brian Belichick discussed his ‘long recovery’ from a knee injury

The Patriots' safeties coach praised the support he got from the team and at home after suffering "a pretty serious knee injury."

Brian Belichick in 2021. Jim Davis/Globe Staff

September 26, 2023

Brian Belichick was able to travel with the Patriots during the team’s 15-10 win over the Jets on Sunday in what was another sign of a long road back from injury.

Brian, the youngest of the Patriots head coach’s children, suffered what he described as “a pretty serious knee injury at the beginning of the summer.”

“I had three surgeries and a long recovery to get back to being functional,” he told reporters on Tuesday, his first media availability of the season. “I’ve always been a part of the team in the meetings and kept up with things, obviously. That’s fortunately been made easier nowadays with the accessibility with Zoom and stuff like that.”

Now in his fourth season as the safeties coach for the Patriots, Belichick is working his way back to a level of normalcy in his day-to-day with the team.

One aspect of the process that’s been in his favor was a preexisting familiarity with being remote for large periods of time. Like everyone else, he worked heavily on video meetings in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“If we hadn’t gone through the experiences with [virtual] meetings, that would have been a pretty jarring change,” he explained. “But it made it pretty seamless. It did help.”

But even with remote access, Belichick admitted that it was still difficult “not to be with the players and with the other guys.”

Near the end of training camp, Belichick was able to return to the team’s facilities and resume some semblance of his usual work life.

“That was obviously a huge boost for me mentally after a long summer, but I’ve been really fortunate and lucky to work with a lot of great doctors that work with the team, a lot of great physical therapy people who work with the team, and that’s a great blessing to be in this situation and have those resources to help me.”

Though he’s still on crutches for the time being, the Patriots’ safeties coach is back on the sidelines.

And as much credit as he paid the team’s medical care, Belichick said that “no one is more important” than his wife, Callie.

“She was — and still is — great supporting me through this. I’m really thankful.”

Belichick will have more traveling to do in the near future. The Patriots face the Cowboys on Sunday at AT&T Stadium before returning to play the Saints at home on Oct. 8.