New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's four-game Deflategate suspension may have been upheld by the NFL and commissioner Roger Goodell, but from the sounds of things that won't stop the Patriots from operating like it's business-as-usual at training camp. While Garoppolo is currently in line to start the first four games of the 2015 NFL season, it seems Brady took "100 percent" of the first-team reps on Thursday, according to Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald, and looked sharp doing it. Per Howe, Brady completed 27 of 30 passes, including his first 16 in a row, and looked like "the best player of the day."
Guess that whole Deflategate thing and his impending federal court battle with the league hasn't rattled the future Hall of Famer one bit. As for his understudy, things apparently got off to a rocky start for Garoppolo, as his first pass of the day was intercepted by Jordan Richards, but he settled in after that, going 28 of 36.
Afterwards, Garoppolo did his best to keep from fanning the flames of a potential media firestorm, suggesting that he wasn't thinking about his chances of starting for the Pats Week One.
"We're not really looking that far ahead. I don't think anyone is. It's the first day of training camp, got with the guys and it felt good to get out here with all of them," he said, via Michael David Smith of ProFootballTalk.com.
Garoppolo said he's trying to keep his focus on the here and now and the rest - meaning Brady's fight with the league and thus, availability - will work itself out.
"Just take it one day at a time," Garoppolo said, via NFL.com. "You can't focus on everything at once because it'll overwhelm you, so you just gotta take it one day at a time, focus on the little things, focus on improving every day."
Asked for his reaction to the news that Brady's suspension was being upheld, Garoppolo plead disinterest.
"Not much of a reaction to it, really," he said. "Just stay focused on what I can control and what I'm trying to learn right now and improve on."