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July 31 (UPI) -- New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady said he has bulked up ahead of his 20th season in the NFL. Brady told reporters Wednesday that he added more weight entering training camp to prepare his body to absorb hits from defenders this year.
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"I wanted to get a little bigger this year and put on a few more pounds and try to absorb the hits a little bit more," Brady said. "I worked pretty hard at that."
Brady, who turns 42 on Saturday, can become the first quarterback in league history to start all 16 regular-season games at that age. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound gunslinger has started 53 consecutive contests since serving a four-game suspension in 2016.
"It's another year. It's a good time of year," Brady said. "This means football season's getting close. Pretty exciting. Every year has its different challenges, but I'm enjoying it. ... Hard for me to imagine doing anything else in life. To still be out here at 41, soon to be 42, it's a pretty great thing for me."
Brady's durability and health has played a major part in the star quarterback's success over the years. Since taking over as the Patriots' starting signal-caller in the 2001 season, he has missed only 19 games in 17 years, with four of those due to his "Deflategate" suspension in 2016.
Brady suffered a torn ACL in the 2008 season opener against the Kansas City Chiefs. The injury ended his 111-game start streak and marked the only time in his career when he was sidelined by an injury.
Brady completed 65.8 percent of his passes for 4,355 yards, 29 touchdowns and 11 interceptions last season.
