The New England Patriots would have been fearing the worst for the start of their 2016 season after quarterback Tom Brady’s four-game suspension for the deflategate scandal was reinstated. The four-time Super Bowl champion opted not to take his fight to the Supreme Court, allowing the NFL to claim victory in the matter and leave the AFC East outfit without their starting signal-caller for the opening quarter of the campaign.
As a result, the club’s odds of winning the Vince Lombardi Trophy dropped with the best online bookmakers as they entered unchartered waters with a new man in the most crucial position. Backup Jimmy Garropolo was thrust back into the limelight after previously seeing his opportunity to start for Bill Belichick’s men stopped by the initial decision of a New York City judge to vacate Brady’s suspension a week before the start of the 2015 season.
The 24-year-old had been patiently waiting behind Brady for a year after being selected in the 2014 Draft, but did create a minor controversy when he led the Patriots to a touchdown drive against the Kansas City Chiefs, in a game when the veteran struggled immensely.
New England won the Super Bowl in the 2014 season, effectively ending any discussion whether Brady would be ousted from the full-time role in the near future. However, the deflategate issue would hand the former Eastern Illinois Tiger a small window to display his credentials.
After the news came through about Brady’s suspension being reinstated, Belichick quickly extinguished any idea that Garoppolo would replace the two-time MVP as the starting quarterback, even if he produced four flawless performances in his opportunity.
The 2016 season arrived and presented a huge challenge for the 24-year-old in his first start, which would be at the home of the Arizona Cardinals, who reached the NFC Championship game in 2015. However, Garoppolo was calm and poised in the pocket, and even led a drive late in the match to hand the Patriots a late lead, that was converted into a win by a missed field goal by Chandler Catanzaro, handing the quarterback his first victory as a starter.
Garoppolo then put forward a clinic in his second game against the Miami Dolphins, throwing three touchdown passes to put the Patriots into a 21-0 lead before disaster struck. Linebacker Kiko Alonso tackled him to the ground and landed on the quarterback’s shoulder, leaving him with an AC joint sprain and ruling him out of the contest. He is unlikely to feature before Brady returns in week five, which will end the time he had to impress other NFL teams or indeed the Patriots.
The interesting dynamic for New England is that Garoppolo’s contract expires at the end of the 2017 season, while Brady extended his in the off-season until 2019. However, the veteran will be 40 at the start of the next campaign and long-term success and durability is not guaranteed at that age, despite the intense regimen Brady has in terms of his exercise routine and diet.
