The New England Patriots organization is likely still reeling from the findings of the Wells Report and the subsequent punishment handed down by the NFL in the wake of the revelation that Pats quarterback Tom Brady maybe/possibly/"more probably than not" was "generally aware" of the deflation of the footballs he and the New England offense would use during the AFC Championship Game against the Indianapolis Colts.
Robert Kraft offered a strongly worded response, Brady has set to work planning his appeal and Pats fans have started a GoFundMe page to help the clearly in-need Kraft to pay the $1 million fine levied as part of the greater DeflateGate punishments.
What Kraft and fans of the team, eagerly looking to move past the scandal and onto the 2015 season, might not be prepared for is the revelation that tension could be mounting between Brady and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick - tension which started with the selection of Jimmy Garoppolo in the second-round of the 2014 NFL Draft and which may have been exacerbated by the suspension facing Brady and the negative attention he brought the team in the weeks leading up to their Super Bowl XLIX appearance.
"If it's true, as ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported in Week 5 last year, that there was friction between Brady and the Patriots staff concerning his future with the club, the new dynamic this year brought on by Brady's own malfeasance won't help," writes Robert Klemko of MMQB.com. "There's a potential for tension that no one could have imagined when the Patriots made the insurance-policy selection of Garoppolo 12 months ago."
Mortensen reported in October that the relationship between Brady and the Patriots coaching staff had become frayed and that those tensions could potentially cause the future Hall of Famer to finish his NFL career elsewhere.
"Two sources told ESPN that former rookie quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was drafted as Brady's successor and the move could happen 'sooner than later.' No source suggested that 'sooner' would mean a change during the 2014 season," Mortensen reported at the time.
"Much of Brady's frustration relates to the downsizing of the Patriots offense that stems from questionable personnel decisions and the retirement of longtime line coach Dante Scarnecchia after the 2013 season, the sources told ESPN."
Brady, of course, would go on to lead the Pats to a last-second Super Bowl XLIX victory, ostensibly easing many of the concerns of the Patriots faithful about his relationship with Belichick and the New England franchise.
The DeflateGate scandal and the subsequent findings - which have cleared Belichick of any prior knowledge or wrongdoing but implicated Brady - could have renewed issues between the two sides, especially now as Brady attempts to get his suspension reduced and heir apparent Garoppolo prepares to take over the top spot for however long.
"Belichick has a delicate choice to make: Just how much work will an inactive Brady get as he enters his 16th season? In the past the coach has afforded backup quarterbacks minimal practice reps in a league that has curtailed offseason practices under the terms of the 2011 CBA," writes Klemko.
The issues of practice reps may seem benign, but is actually an important one, as one former Patriots offensive player told Klemko; "In the offseason, two-a-days are gone. Backups have to keep themselves ready by practicing on the scout team. But in season, backups would rarely get reps. Like, rarely."
Belichick's parsing of reps will paint a very clear picture of his plans for the team and could, potentially, irk Brady, the notoriously fierce competitor who has no doubt become accustomed to operating front and center for the Pats at all times.
In all likelihood, Brady will get his suspension reduced and will return to his position as field general for the Pats for the remainder of the 2015 season.
Beyond that though, Brady can't play forever and the Pats must begin to plan for a future without him, even if Brady isn't yet ready to call it a career.
If tensions really exist between the two formerly close sides, Brady's exit could be expedited and Garoppolo's short-term stint as the starter could quickly become permanent.
