Tom Brady To Drop Appeal, Serve 4-Game 'Deflategate' Suspension
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com/AP) — Tom Brady will drop his appeal and serve his four-game suspension for the "Deflategate" scandal.
The New England Patriots quarterback said in a Facebook post Friday that "I have made the difficult decision to no longer proceed with the legal process."
Brady's latest appeal was rejected Wednesday by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He would have had to convince the U.S. Supreme Court to take his case, and only about 1 percent of the appeals submitted to the nation's highest court are accepted.
Brady was originally suspended before last season when the Patriots were found to have used under-inflated footballs in the previous AFC title game. A judge overturned the suspension Sept. 3 and Brady played the entire 2015 season, but on April 25 a three-judge panel of the 2nd Circuit ruled 2-1 to reinstate the suspension.
The Patriots most likely will have Jimmy Garoppolo taking snaps under center while Brady serves his suspension.
Garoppolo, who was taken 62nd overall by the Patriots in the 2014 NFL Draft, only completed one pass during the 2015 campaign in just four attempts and it was for a mere six yards.
While attending Eastern Illinois, the 6-foot-2 quarterback finished his senior season with 53 touchdowns and nine interceptions, and completed 66 percent of his passes for 360.7 yards per game. Through his four-year college career, he has 13,156 yards, 118 touchdowns, and 51 interceptions with a 62.8 completions percentage.
Garoppolo will face the following teams in the first four weeks of the NFL season if he wins the starting job:
Week 1: Sunday, September 11 @ Cardinals
Week 2: Sunday, September 18 vs Dolphins
Week 3: Thursday, September 22 vs Texans
Week4: Sunday, October 2 vs Bills
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