Tom Brady to Miss Cardinals v. Patriots Game
Tom Brady has been suspended for the first four games of the 2016 NFL season and will miss week one against the Arizona Cardinals.
An appeals court has reinstated Tom Brady’s four-game suspension due to the “Deflategate” scandal from the 2014 AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts.
An article on CNN included a comment from the NFL after the appeals court ruled in their favor…
"“We are pleased the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled today that the Commissioner properly exercised his authority under the collective bargaining agreement to act in cases involving the integrity of the game,” the NFL said in a statement. “That authority has been recognized by many courts and has been expressly incorporated into every collective bargaining agreement between the NFL and (the NFL Players Assocation) for the past 40 years.”"
Due to the four-game suspension, Brady will miss the week one contest against the Arizona Cardinals, as well as the next three games against the Dolphins, Texans, and Bills. Brady will be eligible to return in week five against the Cleveland Browns.
The week one contest is the first time the Patriots will play the Cardinals at University of Phoenix Stadium. The Patriots have played at the stadium twice before with both games having been neutral-site Super Bowl games.
Jimmy Garoppolo will be the starting quarterback for the New England Patriots when they take the field in week one. Garoppolo has thrown 31 total passes in two seasons with the Patriots.
The details of why the suspension has been reinstated are as follows…
"The league’s findings in the Deflategate investigation were that Brady was more probable than not to have ordered the Patriots’ equipment staff to deflate footballs below the minimum level of 12.5 psi. Brady has insisted that he did no such thing."
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The Arizona Cardinals should be heavy favorites rolling into week one now and a victory on national television could be a huge way to kick off a year in which the team hopes to get back to the NFC Championship game with a chance to represent the conference in the Super Bowl.