We’re guessing that most followers of the NFL in New England are already aware of Monday’s big development for the Patriots, but those outside the area may not have been counting the days leading up to Tom Brady’s return quite so fervently.
Brady’s four-game suspension came to an end after the Patriots stumbled to a 16-0 loss to the Bills on Sunday and he’s allowed to rejoin the team at their facility on Monday after a month spent lounging in Italy and attending Michigan football games among other things.
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels told WEEI on Monday morning that he’s already spoken to Brady, something he was barred from doing during the suspension, and Brady’s most frequent receiver in recent years is looking forward to getting back to work.
“It’s going to be good,” Julian Edelman said Sunday in comments distributed by the team. “He’s our leader and it’s going to be great to have him out there. We’re going to have to have a great week of preparation to get back in sync, that’s where it all starts from, going out there and having a good week in practice. We had a good practice this week, we just didn’t turn it on, and like I said, you can’t get behind in the count, especially against a team like that who plays really good defense.”
The Patriots also get defensive end Rob Ninkovich back this week and they’ll need to make a couple of roster moves to return them to the 53-man roster, although the presence of roster exemptions means that can wait for a couple of days while everyone gets used to being back in the daily grind.