Carson Palmer Comments on Tom Brady's Deflategate Suspension

Tom Brady won't be under center for the New England Patriots' season opener Sunday night against the Arizona Cardinals as he begins to serve his four-game Deflategate suspension. One member of the reigning NFC West champions had some not-so-sympathetic words for the four-time Super Bowl champion regarding his absence. 

When asked about the controversial punishment on a Wednesday conference call with reporters, Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer said he didn't feel bad about the way the NFL treated Brady. 

"I tried not to follow it just because it was everywhere for so long but I go back and...you follow what the rule book says and go about your business and your work, and if they tell you not to do it and you get busted and what happens happens, then you suffer the consequences," he said, per CSNNE.com's Tom E. Curran. 

When asked if he believed the NFL had substantial evidence to justify Brady's four-game ban, Palmer admitted he hadn't studied up on the details of the case. 

"To be honest...supposedly the balls went somewhere and they weren’t supposed to go there," he added, per Curran. "There was humidity and not enough humidity and whatever it was and altitude. I don’t really know. I didn’t follow the story. As soon as it came on, I just turned it off because I was so sick of hearing about it."

Brady dropped his appeal of the four-game suspension on July 15—more than 500 days after the Patriots had balls deflated during their 2015 45-7 AFC Championship Game victory over the Indianapolis Colts. 

But now that the dust has settled on Deflategate, New England can turn its attention to a tough Week 1 meeting against the Cardinals that will feature quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo at the controls. 

The third-year signal-caller will be making his first professional start on Sunday night (8:30 p.m. ET on NBC), and he figures to be tested from the start as he attempts to solve a fierce Cardinals defense that ranked No. 2 overall with 33 takeaways last season. 

And not only will Garoppolo need to be wary of a front seven that features Calais Campbell, Chandler Jones and Deone Bucannon, but he will have to be careful targeting his receivers downfield against a stacked secondary that boasts Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu.