Tom Brady's chances of playing in all 16 games this season are all but over after the latest ruling in the never ending Deflategate case.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit has denied Brady’s request for a rehearing of the appeal that reinstated the four-game suspension he received from the league. After being suspended four games the previous year for his role in the deflategate scandal, Brady’s suspension had originally been overturned by U.S. District Court Judge Richard Berman last year, allowing Brady to play for the entire 2015 season. It looks like that will not be the case this season.
What to do now
According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the New England Patriots superstar now has 90 days to appeal to file a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his appeal. The expectation is that Brady's legal team will appeal to the country's highest court. If Brady takes this battle to the supreme court it will be his last chance to fight off the four-game suspension.
What it means for the season
If Brady serves the suspension likely means that the Pats starting QB for those games would become Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo was drafted by the Patriots in the 2nd round in 2014 as the Patriots future franchise quarterback and now he will get a chance to showcase his skill.
If Brady's suspension is upheld once and for all, he will miss the first four games of the 2016 season. The games are against the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday Night Football on Sept. 11. The slate gets easier as the Pats play three consecutive home game against the Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans and finally the Buffalo Bills. If Brady were to end up serving his suspension this season he would be eligible to make his debut Oct. 9 on the road against the lowly Cleveland Browns.
For now, all we can do is wait and see what will happen in this never-ending saga known as Deflategate.
