Bill Belichick leaves no doubt: Tom Brady will be Patriots' starter after suspension

Tom Brady announced almost two weeks ago that he was giving up his fight, and would end pursuit of exoneration in Deflate-gate: The Saga, meaning he’d be suspended for the first four games of this season.

Which means the New England Patriots know that third-year backup Jimmy Garoppolo will be starting those games, and he must get more first-team reps during training camp than he normally does.

Garoppolo, a second-round pick out of Eastern Illinois who has just 31 attempts in his first two seasons, will be at the helm for a not-too-easy quartet of games to open the season: at Arizona, then home against the Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills.

Jimmy Garoppolo and Tom Brady (Getty Images)

No matter how he does, Bill Belichick stated firmly during his camp-opening news conference on Wednesday that Brady will step back into the starter’s role as soon as his suspension ends on Oct. 3.
For a man renowned for his preference to say as little as possible on all topics, this counts as news.

See for yourself:

Bill Belichick says "we have some clarity with Tom's situation. He'll be our starter when he returns" pic.twitter.com/zw2RHKegJ1

— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) July 27, 2016

New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels noted that like many of his teammates, Garoppolo isn’t a finished product, but he’s made a lot of progress in his time as a pro.
“He’s worked extremely hard,” McDaniels said. “He’s gotten a lot of opportunities in his first two-plus years here, in practice and in spring football. This will be his third opportunity at training camp. He’s got a great work ethic. He’s got a great approach. He tries to get better and improve every day, and he’s made progress.”