When Jimmy Garoppolo left Sunday's game against the Miami Dolphins, it didn't look good. Nobody would've been surprised if he'd broken his collarbone with the way he went down.

Luckily, it was a sprained AC joint instead. Still a painful injury, but one with far less recovery time. In fact, the New England Patriots don't think it needs a restrictive recovery timetable at all.

Garoppolo was a limited participant in practice on Tuesday, and the Patriots might actually have intentions of him playing tomorrow night.

From Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald:

However, the Patriots are putting pressure on Garoppolo to be ready as quickly as possible, even reminding him Tom Brady played through a similar injury on multiple occasions throughout his career, sources have told the Herald. That Garoppolo took part in practice Tuesday, on a limited basis, reinforces how the Patriots have hopes of him playing this week.

Howe notes that Garoppolo is still doubtful to play, as he can hardly lift his throwing arm.

It's obvious why the Patriots want him to play. His performance in Tom Brady's absence has been tremendous, tossing four touchdowns and no interceptions while completing 70 percent of his passes.

Just because his numbers mimic Brady's doesn't mean he should be expected to play through the same kind of injuries that the future Hall of Famer has. Brady's a different breed, with a pain threshold that likely exceeds most of his quarterback counterparts.