Tom Brady - Pro Football Rumors

AFC Notes: Butler, Brady, Mariota, Ravens

June 25th, 2015 at 11:30am CST by Luke Adams

It didn’t take long for Super Bowl hero Malcolm Butler to come back down to earth this spring. The Patriots cornerback was reportedly benched by Bill Belichick for a handful of the team’s on-field practices during OTAs after he missed the first voluntary session due to a travel issue.

Now, sources tell ESPN.com that the NFL Players Association has filed a complaint against the Patriots on Butler’s behalf, though the complaint was filed without the cornerback’s approval or involvement. Within the complaint, the union cited Article 21 of the CBA, which states that a player’s absence from a voluntary activity can’t result in “adverse consequences affecting his working conditions.”

While we wait to see what comes of the latest case involving the Patriots, let’s round up a few more items from across the AFC….

Marc Ganis, who is the president of SportsCorp consulting firm and is close with many NFL owners, thinks a decision on Tom Brady‘s suspension appeal will come “sooner rather than later,” writes Howard Ulman of The Associated Press. Ganis points out that the league has already been criticized for the way the DeflateGate situation has dragged on, though I think the NFL is unlikely to speed things along now after moving deliberately for months. I don’t expect we’ll hear a ruling on Brady’s appeal until at least mid-July.
Titans GM Ruston Webster recently suggested that it wouldn’t be a big deal if unsigned first-round pick Marcus Mariota missed a few days of training camp, but the QB tells NFL Media’s Tiffany Blackmon that training camp is still a “long ways off,” as Gregg Rosenthal of NFL.com details. “It’s the furthest thing from my mind,” Mariota said. “My agent is going to do his job. He’s going to do whatever it takes. It’s a business deal it takes some time. I’m happy to be a part of the organization and I’m sure it will work out.” I’d be very surprised if Mariota still didn’t have a contract in place by the time Tennessee’s training camp begins.
In his latest piece for Over The Cap, Jason Fitzgerald identifies Joe Flacco‘s contract with the Ravens as the least team-friendly quarterback deal in the NFL.
Taking into account the Ravens‘ roster patterns from recent seasons, Jeff Zrebiec of the Baltimore Sun predicts what this year’s squad might look like.

Tom Brady Updates: Wednesday

June 24th, 2015 at 3:37pm CST by Luke Adams

The appeal hearing for Tom Brady‘s four-game suspension lasted over 10 hours yesterday, but things eventually wrapped up, and another session won’t be necessary. While the hearing came to an end on Tuesday, we probably shouldn’t expect a ruling until July, as arbitrators typically take at least a couple weeks to announce their decisions on appeals.

Still, we have plenty of reactions and updates on Brady’s appeal to pass along, so let’s dive in and round up the latest….

The post-hearing briefs in the Brady appeal are due late next week, sources tell Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (Twitter link). That will give Goodell even more information to consider, so his ruling won’t come until some time after that.
As expected, the reviews on Brady’s Tuesday performance from NFL sources weren’t quite as glowing as the one’s from Brady’s side, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Florio cites a league source who says that the Super Bowl MVP simply reiterated that he wasn’t involved and didn’t have knowledge of any tampering with the footballs. When pressed on certain issues, Brady’s answers were “regarded by some in the room as not entirely credible,” says Florio.
Within the same PFT piece, Florio suggests that it’s unlikely Brady will be completely exonerated, and notes that the NFLPA’s defense for Brady hinged in large part on attacking the science in the Wells report.

Earlier updates:

Sources tell Adam Schefter of ESPN.com that Brady came off as “very genuine, earnest, and persuasive” during his testimony on Tuesday. According to Schefter, the Patriots quarterback every issue raised in the Ted Wells report, with one source calling it “an A+ performance.” I have to imagine Schefter’s sources are on the NFLPA’s camp rather than from the NFL side.
Within Schefter’s piece, NFLPA rep Jeffrey Kessler indicated that Brady and the union put forth a “very compelling case,” adding that no timetable for a decision was provided.
The transcript of Tuesday’s hearing won’t be released, though that could change if Brady and the NFLPA file a lawsuit against the NFL challenging the outcome of the appeal, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
Florio has two more pieces up on the DeflateGate saga, pointing out that the NFL only seems to come out to contradict erroneous reports when it benefits the league to do so, and suggesting that the NFL ought to study the inflation level of its footballs during the coming season to accumulate more scientific data on the subject.
Given all the gray area and lack of hard evidence in the case, Jarrett Bell of USA Today believes DeflateGate will end up being no more than a footnote to Brady’s legacy.

Latest On Tom Brady’s Appeal

June 23rd, 2015 at 7:39pm CST by Luke Adams

As I detailed this morning, Tom Brady‘s appeal hearing finally got underway today, with Roger Goodell acting as arbitrator while Brady and the NFLPA make the case for the quarterback’s suspension to be reduced or removed. A handful of updates have trickled out in the hours since then, so let’s check in on the latest….

After ten hours, Brady hearing has drawn to a close, as Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. No further hearings are scheduled.
Brady’s appeal is ongoing and Ben Volin of The Boston Globe (on Twitter) guesses that both sides want to wrap things up today rather than have it drag into Thursday.
The NFLPA called upon Troy Vincent, Ted Wells, and a scientific expert as witnesses, Tom Pelissero of USA Today Sports tweets.
Schefter clarifies his earlier report (outlined below), noting that a June 15 letter from Levy referenced a four-hour time limit for Brady’s defense team. However, in a June 22 letter, Levy added that if “good cause” was shown, he’d grant up to one additional hour for the defense. In a tweet, Schefter provides a copy of that June 15 letter.
According to Ben Volin of the Boston Globe (via Twitter), the NFL will get about two hours to give its own testimony, with today’s proceedings expected to end around 5:30pm eastern time.

Earlier updates:

Brady is testifying under oath during today’s session, a source tells Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (Twitter link). That’s the sort of thing you generally hear in actual court cases, but as former Packers executive Andrew Brandt notes (via Twitter), Goodell – as the arbitrator – sets the rules for the hearing, and Ray Rice‘s appeal also featured sworn testimony.
Patriots owner Robert Kraft was unable to testify on behalf of Brady over the phone, tweets Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Instead, per Schefter (Twitter link), Kraft wrote an affidavit to be introduced during the appeal, supporting Brady’s character.
According to Schefter (via Twitter), Brady’s defense team was given four hours today to present its case, and the hearing is expected to wrap up today rather than continuing on Thursday. NFL spokesman Greg Aiello countered Schefter’s report, tweeting that there’s no strict four-hour time limit for Brady’s team, and their presentation is expected to go longer than that.
Alongside Goodell, CBA expert and outside counsel Gregg Levy is heavily involved in overseeing Brady’s hearing, tweets Rapoport.

Tom Brady Appeal Hearing Gets Underway

June 23rd, 2015 at 8:47am CST by Luke Adams

The long-anticipated appeal hearing for Tom Brady‘s suspension gets underway this morning. Brady, commissioner Roger Goodell, and several other key players from the NFL and NFLPA arrived today in advance of the session, which was scheduled to begin at 9:30am eastern time.

Brady and the NFLPA will make the case that the quarterback’s four-game suspension should be reduced or eliminated altogether. However, as a league source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), if Brady says the same thing during his appeal hearing that he did to DeflateGate investigator Ted Wells, his ban won’t change.

Goodell, who appointed himself the arbitrator for the hearing, turned down an NFLPA request to recuse himself, in part because he wants to look Brady in the eye, as he put it. Of course, the former MVP’s comments won’t be the only factor in the union’s case — witnesses central to the AEI report that criticized the Wells report are expected to speak on behalf of the NFLPA.

Still, whereas the AEI report questioned the Wells report’s findings, Brady will have to prove his innocence to get his penalty reduced, tweets Albert Breer of the NFL Network. As Tom Pelissero of USA Today observes (via Twitter), the key question for Brady will be whether he can explain the 57-minute conversation he had on the phone with Pats employee John Jastremski after the initial story broke following the AFC Championship game.

Although the appeal hearing is beginning today, there’s no guarantee it will last just one day, and even if it wraps up by this evening, a decision won’t come immediately. For comparison’s sake, Greg Hardy‘s appeal hearing for his 10-game suspension took place in late May, and arbitrator Harold Henderson has yet to announce his ruling, several weeks later.

Additionally, if Brady and the NFLPA don’t agree with the outcome of this appeal, it’s very possible – perhaps even likely – that they file a lawsuit and take the case to court, challenging Goodell’s involvement in the process. With about two and a half months until the regular season gets underway, the saga could conceivably stretch through the rest of the offseason.

East Notes: Brady, Ted Wells, Dez Bryant

June 22nd, 2015 at 2:01pm CST by Luke Adams

The weeks in the NFL’s calendar between June minicamps and the beginning of training camps are typically fairly quiet, but that’s not the case this week. All eyes will be on Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and the NFLPA tomorrow, as they make their case to arbitrator Roger Goodell for Brady’s suspension to be reduced.

According to Albert Breer of the NFL Network (all Twitter links), Ted Wells will be among those at the hearing tomorrow, in order to take everyone through his DeflateGate report, and to provide his view on the AEI report that was critical of his findings. In addition to Goodell, Wells and Brady, NFLPA reps Tom Depaso and Jeffrey Kessler, along with NFL reps Jeff Pash, Adolpho Birch, and Kevin Manara, will be in attendance.

Here’s more on Brady’s appeal, along with other items out of the NFL’s two East divisions:

Tom Pelissero of USA Today provides a breakdown of all the key facts you need to know for Brady’s appeal hearing.
It’s time for Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to open up his wallet and get Dez Bryant locked up to a multiyear extension, writes Matt Bowen of Bleacher Report. With the help of cap expert Joel Corry, Bowen pegs Bryant’s value at about $14MM per year and $35MM in guaranteed money on a long-term contract.
Rich Cimini of ESPNNewYork.com gets some input from his fellow ESPN.com scribes and checks in on how several former Jets – including Percy Harvin, Nick Bellore – are doing so far with their new teams.

Klemko On Heyward, Brady, Mathis, Wilson

June 22nd, 2015 at 9:00am CST by Luke Adams

With Peter King taking his summer vacation, Robert Klemko of TheMMQB.com stepped in this week to publish the latest Monday Morning Quarterback column, and his piece includes a number of interesting tidbits, including an explanation for why teams ought to attempt two-point conversions more often now that the extra-point kick has been moved back. Here are a handful of other notable items from Klemko’s piece:

Cameron Heyward is entering the final year of his contract, and is negotiating an extension with the Steelers, though he says he’d rather not think about his contract situation. The defensive lineman tells Klemko that he thinks he can play better than he did in 2014, when he ranked as Pro Football Focus’ sixth-best 3-4 defensive end. “I hope last year wasn’t a breakout season because I think I can achieve way more,” Heyward said. “I still have a mentality where I think of myself as a bust. I’ve got to prove everybody wrong including myself. I want to get better, and I want to shut people up.”
Tom Brady‘s camp will call many of the witnesses central to the AEI report – which criticized the Ted Wells report – to testify during the Patriots‘ signal-caller’s appeal, a source tells Klemko. As Klemko points out, Brady and the NFLPA could file a lawsuit in federal court after the appeal process is complete, challenging Roger Goodell for violating due process by declining to recuse himself as arbitrator. However, Klemko thinks that Brady’s four-game ban will be reduced to a one-game suspension, and the QB will forgo legal action to put the issue to rest.
Klemko hears that 10 teams are interested in Evan Mathis, which echoes what agent Drew Rosenhaus said last week. The MMQB.com scribe views the Dolphins as the favorite for the Pro Bowl guard, who may have drawn interest from even more teams if he had reached the open market sooner.
Based on the numbers Klemko is hearing out of the Russell Wilson extension talks, he believes the team and the player are divided on the QB’s value. Klemko predicts that the Seahawks will ultimately franchise Wilson after the 2015 season, then perhaps let him walk a year later.
Klemko disagrees with Titans GM Ruston Webster, who said last week that he wouldn’t be concerned if Marcus Mariota misses the first few days of training camp while the two sides finalize his rookie contract. As Klemko writes, that may be fine for a defensive tackle or safety, but a rookie quarterback – who is expected to start – needs all the training camp reps he can get. I’m inclined to agree that Webster’s comments are “a bad attempt to gain leverage” — there’s really no reason the Titans shouldn’t be able to agree to terms within the next few weeks.

Poll: What Should Tom Brady’s Suspension Be?

June 20th, 2015 at 8:55pm CST by Rob DiRe

When Tom Brady was handed his four-game suspension, all signs pointed to the four-time Super Bowl Champion being guilty, even if there was some surprise to the severity of the penalties associated with DeflateGate.

However, since the suspension was announced, a lot has happened that may have changed the public opinion on the subject. Brady predictably appealed the suspension, and although the NFLPA asked Roger Goodell to recuse himself from the hearing, the commissioner refused.

When Brady and Roger sit down together on Tuesday, it will be with a load of new information since the Wells Report was released. In the past week, both the American Enterprise Institute and Science Now have published lengthy reports that have raised doubt in the accuracy and focus of Ted Wells’ findings, providing Brady’s case with reasonable doubt from a scientific and procedure standpoint.

Of course, that doesn’t nullify the evidence Wells collected via text message, video, and interviews during his investigation.

Of course, not many fans and pundits expect the appeal hearing with Goodell to completely exonerate the reigning Super Bowl MVP, but Brady could still see his suspension reduced to two games. If that happens, and especially if it stays at four, Brady and the NFLPA will have the option to further a pursue an appeal in court.

Either way, it should be interesting to see how this turns out for both Brady and the league.

In light of all the information we have now, how long should Brady’s suspension be?

Science On Brady’s Side In DeflateGate Appeal

June 20th, 2015 at 5:15pm CST by Rob DiRe

A week after the American Enterprise Institute offered their rebuttal of the Ted Wells Report, Tom Brady is getting ammunition for his appeal from another source.

CSNNE.com writes that Rachel Ehrenberg of the Science News has published an article pokes holes in the science of the Wells Report, titled “Deflategate favored foul play over science.” She writes that the Wells Report fails to acknowledge scientific data on the allegedly doctored footballs.

According to Ehrenberg, the findings were “collected so haphazardly that they wouldn’t be allowed in a high school science fair.” The two different gauges differed in their readings by approximately 0.4 PSI, and it isn’t clear which was used before the game because that data was not recorded.

Also, while 11 of 12 Patriot footballs measured below 12.5 PSI at halftime, so did three out the four Colt footballs, according to one of the gauges.

Mike Petraglia of WEEI.com brings up an even more detailed summary of Ehrenberg’s report. Ehrenberg consulted a number of experts to recreate the conditions of the footballs from the night in question. Scientist Michael Naughton, an expert in condensed matters physics, recreated the situation in his lab at Boston College, finding numerous factors that could have led to the significant deflation.

Pittsburgh-based engineering firm HeadSmart labs also investigated the matter. The Wells Report had its experts as well, and Ehrenberg writes that video and text message evidence isn’t refuted by the science, but that Wells did not give the scientific possibility of DeflateGate it’s due.

All of this, plus the AEI report may still not be sufficient to get Brady off the hook for his four-game suspension. Earlier today, we heard from Ben Volin that there is no way Brady’s suspension is revoked, only possibly reduced.

However, all of these rebuttals to the Wells Report all enhance the case of Brady and the Patriots that they did nothing wrong. Should Roger Goodell, who refused to excuse himself from the appeal, uphold a suspension or even a reduced suspension, Brady and the NFLPA will have the opportunity to appeal. Especially if Goodell is not swift with his decision, Brady’s appeal in court could push the decision further back, and he keeps appealing all the way up, he may not have to serve his suspension until late in the season, or even until 2016, according to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.

Details Emerge On Tom Brady’s Appeal

June 20th, 2015 at 12:48pm CST by Sam Robinson

Engulfed by lawyers, Tom Brady and Roger Goodell will face off Tuesday in the appeal summit regarding the quarterback’s four-game suspension the commissioner handed down in May for Brady’s role in Deflategate, and Ben Volin of the Boston Globe discusses how the sides will go about this procedure in New York.

One source informed Volin that Goodell only hears about 10% of these cases, and he delegated this responsibility for the recent appeals of Adrian Peterson, Josh Gordon and Greg Hardy. But with Brady serving as one of the faces of the league in the 21st century, Goodell will serve as the judge to determine whether his own judgment was justified.

Per Volin, around 12 people will be present in the meeting room: attorneys for both sides, NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith and Brady’s agent Don Yee will join the 16th-year quarterback and the 10th-year commissioner. Another source informed Volin that Goodell, while technically not on either side as the hearing officer in this setup, is “tame and usually fairly civil” in these circumstances. NFL executive vice president Troy Vincent and senior vice president of labor policy and government affairs Adolpho Birch could also be in the room.

“It’s kind of like a court of law, but it’s a private hearing; it’s confidential,” one source told Volin. “And the jury is Goodell.”

Goodell will ask questions during each presentation, reports Volin, but the NFL and the appealing contingent do not argue directly with each other despite the acrimony that’s transpired between representatives of each side during this historic offseason ordeal.

“There’s really no back-and-forth at the same time,” another source told Volin. “The appellant makes their case, then the league makes theirs, then the appellant gets to rebut it, then the league gets another chance, then both sides have closing arguments, and that’s pretty much it.”

While Brady obviously wants the entire suspension erased due to what he views is an exceedingly harsh punishment, one source told Volin the future Hall of Famer isn’t seeing any reduction, with the ban being “lenient” to begin with.

“He’s getting a suspension,” that source told Volin. “The only question is, is it four or two games?”

As previously noted, Brady’s side will have a chance to present new information in an attempt to reduce or eliminate his four-game ban, and Volin notes the Patriots quarterback’s team will cite the NFL’s operations manual which states a $25K fine is the baseline for a team that tampers with footballs (although Goodell has the jurisdiction to increase it as he sees fit). Volin also reports Brady’s side, in addition to possibly using the AEI report released last week that scrutinizes Ted Wells‘ investigation and potentially providing more information from Brady’s cellphone after he initially denied access to it, will use the fact that the Panthers and Vikings were issued only a warning for placing footballs near heaters during a December 2014 contest and Brett Favre being fined just $50K for a lack of cooperation in his 2010 scandal for improper text messaging.

The NFL will back Wells’ analysis and the ruling that Brady was “generally aware” of the alleged deflation procedures. Should the summit extend beyond Tuesday, it will resume Thursday, although there is no defined timeline for the decision to come down. Volin reports the Brady ruling may not emerge until the end of July, with Hardy’s May 28 appeal still in limbo as the latest example of the pace of these proceedings.

Brady, who can still file a federal lawsuit if this ruling doesn’t go his way, will lose $1.88MM if his four-game suspension is upheld.

AEI Report Critical Of Ted Wells Report

June 13th, 2015 at 12:49pm CST by Rob DiRe

Kevin Hassett, Joseph Sullivan, and Stan Veuger are criticizing the findings of the Ted Wells Report on deflated footballs in New England. The three authors’ work has been published on the website of the American Enterprise Institute–AEI. The New York Times also summarized this new report for their audience.

This report is timely, coming a little more than a week ahead of Tom Brady‘s appeal hearing. It could become more ammunition that exonerates Brady and the Patriots of wrongdoing, or at least generate enough doubt to help get his suspension reduced or eliminated, according to CSNNE.com.

AEI, which notably claims to have no financial stake in the findings our outcome, describes the original findings of Ted Wells to be unreliable. Among aspects of the case it calls into question, it rejects the idea that the Patriots’ footballs had a more significant drop in air pressure than did the Colts’ footballs in the first half of the AFC Championship game.

The new report also calls into question the process in which officials tested the footballs, saying that only four Colts’ football were tested at halftime as opposed to 11 of the Patriots’ footballs, and raises questions about the environments they were each tested in and the amount of gauges used before re-inflating them.

CSNNE.com notes that the AEI report on player injuries data on the heels of Bountygate helped a number of Saints’ players have their suspensions vacated in 2012, and hopes that Brady will be able to use this new information to his advantage when he meets with Commissioner Roger Goodell on June 23rd.