The Arizona Cardinals won’t be facing Tom Brady

The Arizona Cardinals will be hosting the New England Patriots on September 11th on Sunday Night Football.

The Deflategate saga has finally come to end. Tom Brady announced, via his Facebook page, earlier today that he will be stop trying to fight his suspension and will sit out the first four games of the season.

Here is what Brady had to say regarding the matter:

"I’m very grateful for the overwhelming support I’ve received from Mr. Kraft, the Kraft family, coach Belichick, my coaches and teammates, the NFLPA, my agents, my loving family and most of all, our fans. It has been a challenging 18 months and I have made the difficult decision to no longer proceed with the legal process. I’m going to work hard to be the best player I can be for the New England Patriots and I look forward to having the opportunity to return to the field this fall."

Brady’s decision to drop his appeal affects the Cardinals in more way than one. Let’s get the obvious out of the way; Tom Brady won’t be playing. Instead, Bruce Arians instead will have to prepare his staff and players to face Jimmy Garoppolo, a third year player out of Eastern Illinois who will be making his first career start.

The last time the Cardinals faced a backup, was Landry Jones and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 6 of last season. Jones, who stepped in for an injured Michael Vick, threw for 168 yards and 2 touchdowns en route to a 25-13 Pittsburgh win.

I expect things to go much differently this time around. There isn’t much film on Garoppolo for the Cardinals to analyze, who has only thrown 31 regular season passes in his short career. Arians will make sure his team is ready for any surprises coming their way.

Arizona linebacker Chandler Jones may also be able to provide some insider information on Garoppolo and his tendencies afterspending 2 seasons with him in New England.

For now, the Cardinals will have to wait until the postseason to get a crack at Tom Brady.