It looks like the Patriots may be without Tom Brady to start the season after all.
The ongoing saga that is Deflategate took yet another turn on Monday when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit restored Brady's four-game suspension, meaning that as of today the Patriots will open the season without its star quarterback.
The good news is the Patriots follow a trip to Arizona to open the season with a three-game home stand against Miami, Houston and Buffalo. So, if Jimmy Garoppolo indeed is forced to run the show in the first month he'll at least get to do so at Gillette Stadium.
The Court of Appeals in New York reversed a federal judge's ruling from September, ruling that in imposing the suspension, Commissioner Roger Goodell properly exercised his discretion under a collective bargaining agreement.
"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," the ruling read in part.
*According to the Associated Press, *the three-judge panel sided 2-1 with the NFL, saying the league's discipline was properly grounded in the collective bargaining agreement and Brady was treated fairly. Chief Judge Robert Katzmann dissented.
"I am troubled by the Commissioner's decision to uphold the unprecedented four-game suspension," Katzmann told the AP. "The Commissioner failed to even consider a highly relevant alternative penalty."
According to several legal experts, Brady's options at this point would appear to be limited, but given the among of twists and turns we've seen in the case already the situation is by no means resolved.
