Greg Bedard says Tom Brady going to court may be risky for Patriots

Tom Brady's appeal regarding his four-game suspension will be held on June 23, and there have been rumors that he could take the NFL to court if it doesn't wipe out his suspension entirely. While many seem to be in favor of Brady suing the league, Greg Bedard of Sports Illustrated sees it as a risk.

"It's going to be a long fight and it might not be the outcome that's the best for the Patriots," said Bedard. "He could end up getting four games in November instead of one or two in September and putting it behind him and winning football games.

This raises an interesting point, and one that I hadn't given much thought to. Would Patriots fans want Brady to take this to court (assuming the appeal doesn't go his way) and possibly sit out a few games later in the year? Or would they rather bite the bullet and have him sit out a few to open the season.

Some may feel that it's worth the risk, and no one would blame you for feeling that way. Personally, I'd rather see him sit out a few games to start the season rather than in the middle or the end of it. I really don't think the Patriots would want to lose him for even a game in November or December, which is when they usually get going.

Don't get me wrong. At first, I was all for Brady taking this to court if it didn't go his way. But once I realized he could potentially sit out in the middle of the season if he went to court, that made me change my mind.

There are tons of questions within the AFC East, but if the other teams in that division play well, those games will have much more meaning than they have in the past. Brady needs to be a part of that.

Consider that the Patriots started off slow in 2014 and 2012 (going 2-2 in the first four games in each case) and rebounded nicely. In 2012, they went to the AFC title game against Baltimore, and we all know what happened last year. Brady was under center for all four games in both scenarios.

In an absolute worst case scenario, there's no way they go 0-4 to start the year even if Jimmy Garoppolo is subbing in for Brady. He's got enough around him to get by. Don't be fooled by his five interceptions in OTAs the other day. Those numbers don't matter.

Case in point, their season isn't automatically over if Brady has to sit the first four games of 2015. Later in the year, though? That might be tougher to overcome.



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