Howe: Brady Takes Bulk Of Reps At Practice, Should Still Play Saturday Night
BOSTON (CBS) -- As the DeflateGate saga drags on, Tom Brady continues to prepare for life on the football field.
It's looking more and more like Brady will be able to play in Week 1, even as the NFL and NFLPA battle in court over his four-game suspension. If the suspension isn't vacated by Judge Richard Berman, Brady could still appeal and potentially be on the field for opening night on September 10, and it's looking like the Patriots are planning on that scenario to happen.
Brady received the majority of the snaps at Monday's practice at Foxboro, and they were very important reps, as The Boston Herald's Jeff Howe explained Tuesday morning on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich.
"What was interesting about Monday was they did a lot of situational work -- end of game situations, end of half situations, forcing the ball into the end zone from 20-15 yards out, four-minute offense to bleed out the clock. Brady took all but two of the passes in those drills there at the end of practice," said Howe. "There were some handoffs that [Jimmy] Garoppolo got too, but it was about 80 percent of the reps that went to Tom Brady. That's just another sign that they have gone all in with Brady and aren't really giving Garoppolo much play with the starters or the important drills in practice."
Brady doesn't have to attend Wednesday's second settlement hearing in federal court in New York, meaning he can hit the field with his teammates when they have a pair of joint practices with the New Orleans Saints in West Virginia on Wednesday and Thursday. After playing just seven snaps in New England's preseason opener, and likely getting much more meaningful reps during the joint sessions with the Saints, Howe still expects Brady to get some time under center Saturday night in New Orleans.
"If Brady practices well Wednesday and Thursday, he's probably still going to get some reps. The reps he got last week weren't all that quality, and it wasn't because of the result but more of who he was with," said Howe. "He was behind three backup offensive linemen and two rookies, and there was no Edelman or Gronkowski."
Howe said running back LeGarrette Blount should be back in action on Saturday, but it's still unclear if Julian Edelman will travel.
"You're going to give him a couple of more guys to work with," said Howe. "He's going to get some playing time."
Howe also touches on the week ahead in West Virginia and New Orleans, and the status of wide receiver Aaron Dobson:
