Tom Brady said it was 'personal decision' to drop deflate-gate fight vs. NFL
New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady spoke to the media for the first time in months, and following his decision not to further pursue his legal options related to deflate-gate Brady explained his line of thinking.
“Well, it was a personal decision,” he said following Friday practice. “I try to come out here and just focus on what I need to do to get better and help our team. Like I said, I’ll be excited to be back when I’m back and I’ll be cheering our team on, hoping we win every game.”
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Brady was suspended four games by the NFL for his role in the deflation of footballs and the ensuing league investigation into the matter, which stretched more than a year. After the ban was upheld by the U.S. Second Court of Appeals, Brady chose not to take the matter further — such as to the Supreme Court — and accept his suspension for the first month of the season.
Brady spoke for just over five minutes on Friday after a session in which he completed all 25 of his pass attempts with three TDs in a head-to-head setting, outplaying Jimmy Garoppolo, the man who will replace him those first four games. Brady has been tearing up defenders in most training camp practices, while splitting reps with Garoppolo and rookie Jacoby Brissett, who will serve as the backup while Brady is out.
“I’ve tried to be as positive as I can be,” Brady said. “I think that’s always been my motto. Over the course of my career, I’ve been faced with different things and tried to overcome them the best way I could or [the] best way I knew how. I’ll try and do the same thing. I just want our team to go out there and play really well.”
Brady said divvying up the QB reps in practice has been good for the overall competition of the group and the team.
“I think we’ve had really good competition, and we’re trying to push each other so that we’re ready to go,” he said. “It’s tough competition in the NFL, and every team is working hard this time of year. We can’t take any days off. We have to go out there and try and work on something every day. Everyone has to be ready to go.”
Asked what he’ll do during his suspension — he can’t be with the team — Brady said he’ll cross that bridge when the time comes.
“I’ll deal with that when it comes. I could have a plan and then change the plan. I really don’t know,” Brady said. “I’m really focusing on every day and just trying to get better. One of my coaches said, look, you’ve just got to get better every day. That’s where my focus has been. These days are important for me; they’re important for every guy on this team to get better and make the improvements.
“Collectively, it’s a long season. We’ve got a good competitive team. I’ll just be rooting for us to win every game that we’re playing that I’m not in and certainly when I’m in, I hope we win every game too.”
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Eric Edholm is a writer for Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter!
