Report: Brady to sit out preseason opener vs. Packers

In what shouldn't come as too much of a surprise, quarterback Tom Brady will not play in tonight's preseason opener versus the Green Bay Packers at Gillette Stadium, according to Stacey Dales of NFL Network. 

It's been a different kind of week for Brady as he's coming off his court date in New York in which he spent hours in conversation with commissioner Roger Goodell and Judge Richard Berman as the two sides look to come together on a settlement in the Deflategate saga. Brady also missed practice Tuesday, likely in preparation for yesterday's hearing.

Even if we weren't dealing with Deflategate, it would've been unlikely to see Brady suit up in tonight's game. TB12 rarely plays early in the preseason, and he also sat out last year's opener versus the Redskins. But since we are still stuck in the mud with Brady's four-game suspension, backup QB Jimmy Garoppolo will get most of the playing time tonight and moving forward in the next three games. Garoppolo has been shaky through the first weeks of training camp going against defenses operating at half-speed so it'll be interesting to see how he performs against competition that's actually trying (a little bit more) than camp standards.

[photo via www.bleacherreport.com]