Tom Brady likely to serve suspension, including Texans game

1of3It appears Tom Brady's 17th NFL season will get off to a belated start.Photo: Winslow Townson, FRE

2of3Jimmy Garoppolo is expected to be the Patriots' QB in Tom Brady's absence.Photo: Elise Amendola, STF

3of3After 35 years at HISD schools, Rocky Manuel exits the high school baseball scene with a lasting legacy.

In the latest legal twist in the Deflategate saga, New England Patriots star quarterback Tom Brady suffered a major setback that probably will sideline him for the first four games of the regular season.

The former Super Bowl and league Most Valuable Player's appeal of a four-game suspension was rejected by a federal court Wednesday whey it declined to grant him a rehearing.

Barring an unlikely decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to hear an appeal, which hasn't been ruled out as a course of action by Brady's team of lawyers, the veteran quarterback would be unavailable for the Patriots' Sept. 22 game against the Texans at Gillette Stadium in Week 3.

Instead of squaring off against Brady, one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history as a three-time Super Bowl MVP, a two-time league MVP and an 11-time Pro Bowl selection, the Texans would face Patriots backup Jimmy Garoppolo during the nationally televised Thursday night game.

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Patriots' first four

Tom Brady is scheduled to miss the first four games next season, including a Thursday night game on Sept. 22 against the Texans:

Sept. 11 at Arizona 7:30 p.m.

Sept. 18 vs. Miami Noon

Sept. 22 vs. Houston 7:25 p.m.

Oct. 2 vs. Buffalo Noon

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Seldom-seen backup

Garoppolo, 24, is entering his third NFL season and is a former second-round draft pick from Eastern Illinois. He has played sparingly in 11 career games, completing 20 of 31 passes for 188 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions for a 91.9 passer rating.

Brady, 38, completed 22 of 30 passes for 226 yards, two scores and no interceptions during a 27-6 win over the Texans in December at NRG Stadium.

During his storied career, Brady has passed for 58,082 yards, 428 touchdowns and 150 interceptions. He passed for 4,770 yards, 36 touchdowns and seven interceptions with a 102.2 passer rating last season.

The second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan flatly rejected the appeal on behalf of Brady by the NFL Players Association saying, "it is hereby ordered that the petition is denied."

That upheld NFL commissioner Roger Goodell's decision to suspend Brady for his alleged role in the Patriots' actions to deflate the air pressure in footballs to the quarterback's preference for a playoff win over the Indianapolis Colts in 2015.

Under the NFL collective bargaining agreement, Goodell has been granted wide discretionary powers to suspend players.

Following a lengthy investigation, NFL special investigator Ted Wells found the Patriots intentionally used underinflated footballs and that Brady was generally aware of the practice.

Beyond Brady's four-game suspension, the Patriots were fined $1 million and forfeited their first-round draft pick this year.

Convoluted process

Brady's appeal was rejected by Goodell before a federal court judge briefly overturned the suspension, with the league subsequently appealing and a three-judge panel reinstating the punishment. Now, the suspension has been upheld again and Brady's legal options are dwindling.

Goodell appears unlikely to budge on his stance that Brady and the Patriots have broken the rules and that he must protect the integrity of the game.

"The NFL Players Association is a labor union that protects the rights of all of its members and pursues any violations of those rights by any means necessary," the union said in a statement. "We are disappointed with the decision denying a rehearing, as there were clear violations of our collective bargaining agreement by the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell.

"Despite today's result, the track record of this League office when it comes to matters of player discipline is bad for our business and bad for our game. We have a broken system that must be fixed. We will review all of our options carefully on behalf of Tom Brady and all NFL players."

The Patriots open the season against the Arizona Cardinals, followed by games against the Miami Dolphins, Texans and Buffalo Bills.

Unless Brady and his lawyers can complete the legal equivalent of a Hail Mary pass and convince the Supreme Court to take up the case, he'll be suspended without pay for those games and the Patriots will find out soon just how ready Garoppolo is to stand in for one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the game.

Aaron Wilson is a Texans beat writer for the Houston Chronicle, joining the paper in August 2015. He was a Baltimore Ravens beat writer from 2001 to 2015, working for The Baltimore Sun, including coverage of Super Bowl XLVII, the Ray Rice domestic violence case and the careers of Ray Lewis, Ed Reed and Jonathan Ogden, and previously covered the team for the Carroll County Times and the Annapolis Capital.

This marks the second time the Washington, D.C. native has covered the AFC South, previously covering the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars.

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