FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- Drew Bledsoe brought a touch of humor to his conversation with reporters Friday after he was named the New England Patriots' honorary captain for the AFC Championship Game.

With so much attention focused on Tom Brady's right hand injury, the 45-year-old Bledsoe was asked, with a light touch, about his status.

"I am getting kind of old, so that injury to my finger from back in the late '90s, when it gets cold, it starts to ache a little bit. But the ball still flies off my hand pretty good, believe it or not," he said. "I am coaching some high school football out here and every now and then I will play on the scout team. If they need me, I will be ready. I'll borrow Julian Edelman’s number 11 jersey and go out there and sling it around. I figure I got one or two good plays in me, and that’s about it."

Bledsoe, of course, wore No. 11 for the Patriots from 1992 to 2001 and is in the team's Hall of Fame.

Of being named honorary captain, he said, "It's a great honor to come out and be an honorary captain for the best organization in all of professional sports. Mr. Kraft has always been so kind to me and my family. It's a great feeling to get that call from him the other day and ask me to come out. We changed some plans and will be there."