Will it be Tom Brady or Jimmy Garoppolo under center when the New England Patriots take on the New Orleans Saints in Thursday's preseason opener?
The early signs point toward Garoppolo playing with the first-team offense to prepare the backup quarterback for the first four games of the season as Brady serves a four-game suspension.
The plan early this week was for Brady to sit this game out, NFL Media's Mike Garafolo reported, via a source informed of the team's preparations for the Saints.
As Garafolo points out, Brady seemingly convinced the coaches to allow him to play last summer under similar circumstances when the original plan called for him to sit out.
At this point, though, all indications from New England suggest Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman and perhaps a few more key starters will not play this week.
It will be interesting to see how Bill Belichick distributes playing time once the Patriots reach the Week 3 dress rehearsal portion of the preseason schedule.
