Tom Brady is officially back.
The New England Patriots activated the quarterback before Sunday's contest against the Cleveland Browns, the team announced. The Pats also activated pass rusher Rob Ninkovich following his four-game suspension.
Brady spent the previous four weeks of the regular season serving a well-publicized suspension. He gets the hapless Browns -- the lone winless team left in the NFL -- as the first recipient of his pent-up frustration, and he's eager to get back to work, telling Westwood One's Jim Gray "it was great to be back in the building."
New England has to be ecstatic to get to insert Brady in the starting lineup, coming off four weeks largely filled with health-related uncertainty at the quarterback position. The Patriots emerged nearly unscathed, winning the first three contests on the backs of Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett before a shutout loss to Buffalo last week. Fireworks of the non-pyrotechnic, scoring variety are expected at FirstEnergy Stadium, with the majority coming from Brady and Co.
Here are the other players activated on Saturday following their four-game suspensions:
- The Cowboys activated defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, who served a four-game suspension for failing a drug test. He takes La'el Collins' roster spot; Collins is on injured reserve with a toe injury.
- The Colts activated defensive tackle Arthur Jones, who served a four-game suspension for violating the league's policy on performance enhancing drugs. Jones missed all of 2015 with an ankle injury.