TEMPE, Ariz. -- If, in fact, New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady cannot play Week 1 of the regular season at Arizona, Cardinals Pro Bowl defensive tackle Calais Campbell will be “licking my chops” playing against Brady’s backup.
Brady, who was suspended four games by the NFL for his role in Deflategate, saw his request for a rehearing rejected by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday. The decision made it unlikely Brady will make the trip to Arizona for “Sunday Night Football” on Sept. 11, giving Jimmy Garoppolo his first career start.
And that put Garoppolo in Campbell’s crosshairs.
“You get a rookie quarterback, it’s always exciting when you get a guy like that for his first game because he’s going to be nervous,” Campbell said Wednesday on CBS Sports Radio. “He’s probably going to be sitting there holding the ball a little longer or trying to get rid of it quick, throwing bad balls.
“As a vet, we definitely pride ourselves on welcoming [quarterbacks] the right way.”
Garappolo, who’ll be in his third season -- not his rookie campaign, as Campbell said -- has completed 20 of 31 passes in 11 career games. He completed just one pass in 2015.
Campbell had five sacks last season en route to his second consecutive Pro Bowl. He has 21 sacks since Bruce Arians was hired as Arizona coach in 2013.
