FOXBORO, Mass. -- New England Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe was cleared by three different doctors and could be ready to play Sunday night against the St. Louis Rams, a team source told ESPN's Chris Mortensen.

	Bledsoe

The doctors, however, still want to make sure Bledsoe regains 100 percent of his strength and conditioning. Bledsoe has lost 20 pounds since suffering internal bleeding in Week 2 and has been training the last two weeks.

Originally, the same source said Bledsoe would miss eight weeks, but that doctors at one stretch doubted whether he would be able to return the rest of the season. The source said Bledsoe's doctors, whom he described as conservative by nature, now believe his recovery will allow him to return to the field.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday he expects Bledsoe to get the OK this week. But that doesn't mean he will replace Tom Brady, who is 5-2 as a starter since Bledsoe's chest injury, as the starting quarterback.

"I can't answer any questions as to what will happen down the road," Belichick said. "We expect Tom to start against St. Louis."

The team did not have meetings on Monday, and neither Bledsoe nor Brady was available for comment. But after Sunday's 21-11 victory over Buffalo, in which Brady completed 15 of 21 passes for 107 yards and a touchdown, he said he was only thinking about the game.

"I'll let Drew be concerned about how he feels and when he is ready to go," Brady said. "I don't know when he is coming back and all I know is I am going to keep playing as hard as I can."

Bledsoe sustained massive bleeding in his chest when he was hit by the New York Jets' Mo Lewis. The Patriots lost both games Bledsoe started this season.

Brady, who played at Michigan and was selected in the sixth round of the 2000 draft, moved ahead of Damon Huard in training camp to become the No. 2 quarterback.

Brady has completed 140 of 221 passes for 1,426 yards, 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.

"I think if we had lost the last seven games, that probably would look a little different than winning five of the last seven," Belichick said. "But until I see it, I just don't know. I'm going to play the guy who gives us the best chance to win every week."

Bledsoe has been the team's emergency, or third-string, quarterback for the past three games, meaning he would have played only if the first two quarterbacks were injured in the game -- and probably only handed off.

Belichick said Brady would take most of the snaps with the first team in practice, though Bledsoe would get some. The questions are how Bledsoe shakes off the rust accumulated over the past seven games and how quickly he returns to playing shape.

"I don't think it's fair to do evaluations based on what he's done so far because he hasn't been fully cleared to go," Belichick said. "It's one thing to go out there and throw a few passes and rotate with a few guys. It's another thing to throw all of the passes in a game.

"Until you've been in a game, it's not the same as being in a game. It's not like the preseason; we're trying to win every game."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.