UPDATE (8:01 p.m. ET): Contrary to multiple earlier reports, Tom Brady did not play against the Chicago Bears. He was not on the field during warmups and reportedly left Gillette Stadium before kickoff.
Instead, Jimmy Garoppolo started for the New England Patriots for the second consecutive week.
UPDATE (8:20 p.m. ET): CSNNE.com’s Tom E. Curran has an update on why Brady was held out.
ORIGINAL STORY: Tom Brady’s first game action of the 2016 preseason will come Thursday night against the Chicago Bears, according to the Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe and multiple other reports.
What’s more, CSNNE.com’s Tom E. Curran and ESPN.com’s Mike Reiss both reported that Brady, who sat out last week’s preseason-opening win over the New Orleans Saints, will start under center as the Patriots welcome the Bears to Gillette Stadium.
With Brady missing the Saints game to attend a memorial service for a family member, Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett split the quarterback reps for New England.
Garoppolo, who is set to start the first four games of the regular season while Brady serves his Deflategate suspension, played the first half. The third-year pro completed 11 of 18 passes for 168 yards before giving way to Brissett, who went 7-for-13 for 63 yards over the final two quarters.
Thursday’s game will be Brady’s last at Gillette for nearly two months, as the Patriots will be on the road for the final two weeks of the preseason and in Cleveland for Week 5 — the first regular-season game Brady will be eligible to play in. The Pats return to Foxboro in Week 6 to host the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 16.
Thumbnail photo via Greg M. Cooper/USA TODAY Sports Images
