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The news just came down. The U.S. Court of Appeals has been at this since 2015. Somehow, Judge Bermon’s ruling that Brady will not serve the four game suspension has been overruled. Brady will be serving the four game suspension at the start of this upcoming season.
This is not the best news. The Patriots start the season away against the Arizona Cardinals. Then they have three home games hosting the Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans, and Buffalo Bills.
The Court of Appeals wrote "We hold that the commissioner properly exercised his broad discretion under the collective bargaining agreement and that his procedural rulings were properly grounded in that agreement and did not deprive Brady of fundamental fairness. Accordingly, we reverse the judgement of the district court and remand with instructions to confirm the award.
Goodell talked about this issue before Super Bowl 50 saying “This is not an individual player issue, this is about the rights that we negotiated in our collective bargaining agreement," Goodell said at the time. "We think they're very clear. We think they're important to the league going forward and we disagree with the district judge decision. We are appealing that - which is part of the legal process - I am not focused on that right now."
This is also being in conjunction with the Patriots first round draft pick for the upcoming draft being taken away. This creates a major problem for New England. They will now have to figure out what they are going to do about a quarterback. Jimmy Garoppolo seems to be a good choice as the backup from last season, but that’s not 100% a fact if he will play. But whoever it is, are they ready to face these teams? The Cardinals have a good defense, but it will certainly be a challenge with Chandler Jones with them now. The Texans defense isn’t really that scary, as seen when we played them last time. A big worry though is a young quarterback against an experienced J.J. Watt, which could spell disaster. The Bills have a stout defense which also could provide for a tough matchup for whoever will take the quarterback mantle in place of Brady.
This could potentially be a very big issue for the Patriots hopes of hoisting the Lombardi trophy next season. With this news just breaking, more is sure to follow. Be on the lookout for more stories to come out about this never ending story.
