New England Patriots Rumors: Goodell To Make Brady, Patriots Wait For Ruling On Deflategate Appeal
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady spent a marathon 10 hours in his Deflategate appeal hearing with National Football League Commissioner Roger Goodell at NFL headquarters on Park Avenue in New York on Tuesday. But now various rumors in the press indicate that Goodell may make the Patriots sweat it out almost until their first preseason game as he takes his time rendering his decision.
The NFL’s timetable for dealing with the alleged scandal over footballs that may or may not have been somewhat underinflated during the AFC Championship game between New England and the Indianapolis Colts on January 18, has not been officially set.
Goodell announced that the NFL would investigate the allegations against Brady and the Patriots — and finally issued its report, prepared by NFL-hired lawyer Ted Wells, on May 6, allowing more than 100 days to go by.
Then the NFL waited another five days before announcing that Brady would be suspended for a mind-boggling four games — 25 percent of the NFL regular season — over what appeared to, even if true, a minor rules violation.
Brady then was forced to wait anther six weeks before being granted an audience with Goodell to make his case on Tuesday, June 23.
Now, according to a report from Fox Sports, Goodell appears likely to wait another five weeks before letting the Patriots know whether their future Hall of Fame signal-caller will be available on week one of the regular season.
“The New England Patriots quarterback shouldn’t expect a decision any sooner than mid-to-late July,” wrote Fox Sports NFL Correspondent Mike Garafolo. “Once Goodell reaches a decision, the league must craft the wording precisely so it would withstand legal scrutiny if Brady decides to challenge it in court.”
Unless Goodell wipes out the four-game suspension completely and exonerates Brady — a possibility deemed remote at best by most NFL observers — it is generally believed that Brady will fight the commissioner’s ruling in federal court.
The Patriots first preseason game comes on August 13 against the Green Bay Packers at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Of course, Brady rarely plays many downs in preseason contests anyway.
Another report, this one from Ian Rappoport of the NFL’s own media outlet NFL.com, offered a somewhat more optimistic assessment, saying that Goodell would likely offer his decision after the first weekend in July.
Rappoport said that in his 10-hour hearing before Goodell on Tuesday, “Brady offered full explanations to every question,” Rappoport added, “and more context than was provided to independent investigator Ted Wells in relation to the footballs used in the AFC Championship Game.”
The first regular season game for New England will be Thursday, September 10, at Gillette against the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers, as the Patriots open their defense of their Super Bowl title as they aim for an appearance in Super Bowl 50.
[Image: Billie Weiss/Getty Images]
