We may see a rusty Tom Brady in Week Five.
Brady is suspended for the first four games of the season over Deflategate, so he’s scheduled to make his regular season debut in Week Five against the Browns. Quarterbacks regularly miss time with injuries and then return to the field without any problems, but those quarterbacks have usually been working with their teammates at practice and participating in team meetings. Brady’s case will be different.
Not only is Brady not allowed to go to practices or team meetings during the four weeks when he’s suspended, but he’s not even allowed to have contact with coaches, or have a teammate over to his house to play catch.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy told the Boston Herald that if Brady wanted Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Rob Gronkowski or any other Patriot to come over to his house and help him stay sharp, the NFL would prohibit it. Brady can’t “engage in any team football-related activities or discussions with teammates, even if away from the club facility.”
Would the NFL really be able to enforce a prohibition of “any team football-related activities or discussion?” Maybe not, but at this point Brady would be wise not to do anything that would result in a lengthy investigation. The last one didn’t go well for Brady.
