Report: Tom Brady will start vs. Giants; Jimmy Garoppolo won't play
The New England Patriots close out their preseason slate on Thursday night against the New York Giants, but Patriots fans won’t get to see their Week 1 starter play. Instead, the guy who’s led the Patriots to four Super Bowls will get the start.
According to Tom Curran of CSNNE, Tom Brady will be the starting quarterback against the Giants. Jimmy Garoppolo, on the other hand, will not play.
This is a very surprising move by coach Bill Belichick given that the Patriots’ season rides on Brady’s arm, as it does each season. Most starters across the league won’t see the field at all on Thursday night, let alone start. It’s unclear whether the rest of the first-stringers will join Brady in the starting lineup, though it’s unlikely.
Garoppolo, of course, will keep the seat warm until Brady returns from his four-game suspension in Week 5 against the Browns. He’s been a bit shaky in the preseason, which makes it surprising that he won’t play at all.
Brady has been around this league long enough where he doesn’t need a meaningless tune-up game to get himself ready for a game that's six weeks down the road. It seems unnecessary to put him in harm’s way in this one, but Belichick obviously sees it as necessary.
Rookie Jacoby Brissett is expected to be Brady's backup for Thursday night.
