With the ruling of Tom Brady's appeal expected to come any day now, the New England Patriots are preparing or any possible outcome. As of right now, the quarterback will be suspended for the first month of the 2015 season, but he is appealing to have all of that dropped following the ruling on the Deflate Gate scandal. While Brady is expected to miss some time on the field, the ball will be handed off to backup Jimmy Garoppolo who is getting plenty of praise from his wide receivers.
Garoppolo got a lot of first-team snaps during OTAs and minicamp with the Patriots as New England awaits the future of Brady. The backup quarterback is preparing to make the first start of his career after seeing a brief amount of playing time in 2014. According to Brandon LaFell in an appearance on Sirius XM NFL Radio, the wide receiver group loves what they see out of the young quarterback as confidence continues to grow in his abilities.
"I feel like studying behind Tom has been great for him," LaFell said, via ESPN.com. "If we have to be without Tom for the first couple games, I'm pretty sure Tom will be in Jimmy's ear helping him prepare each and every way he can to go out here and lead this team. I think we have a great group of guys around him that will kind of take the pressure off Jimmy so he won't have to feel like he has to go out there and win the game himself with me, Gronk, [Julian] Edelman, Scott Chandler, we have all great guys around here - LeGarrette Blount, Aaron Dobson - a few guys who can go out and make a lot of plays for him so he doesn't feel like he has to go out there and win the game himself. Everybody just has to up their level of play to help out."
According to CNBC's Julia Boorstin, a ruling on Deflate Gate is expected to come as soon as next week. Commissioner Roger Goodell presided over the appeal back in June while everyone awaits to hear whether or not the four-game suspension will be upheld or eliminated. The Ted Wells report originally stated that it was "more than probable" Brady had something to do with the deflated balls used in the AFC Championship game.
With the expectation that Brady will miss some time, the Patriots will rely heavily on their supporting cast around Garoppolo. According to the Boston Herald, the Patriots could still be contenders to add to the roster during training camp. Wes Welker has said he is open to a return to New England while ESPN's John Clayton lists the Patriots as a potential landing spot for Ray Rice. The chances are very slim either player joins on to the roster, but if Brady does in fact stay suspended for four games, adding another playmaker is not the worst idea.