Patriots quarterback Tom Brady reportedly not expected to play against the Titans

The New England Patriots will play their second preseason game of the year later today, but it sounds like their most important player will not participate: as first reported by ESPN Boston’s Mike Reiss, quarterback Tom Brady is not expected to see the field against the Tennessee Titans tonight. If the report turns out to be accurate, Brady will sit out his second straight game after already being inactive during the preseason opener last week.

The 42-year-old not playing against Tennessee is hardly a surprise, though. After all, he did see plenty of action in a competitive environment during the week: the Patriots and Titans held two full-speed joint practices, and Brady attempted a combined 34 passes in 11-on-11 drills. He completed 23 of them for a 67.6% success rate and generally looked terrific despite playing with a depleted group of pass catchers.

It looks like the Patriots feel good about his workload heading into tonight’s contest, which means that backups Brian Hoyer and Jarrett Stidham will again share the snaps at quarterback. While Hoyer is an established veteran presence, Stidham — a fourth-round rookie — will get another chance to prove himself in the NFL after already looking very good during his debut last week against the Detroit Lions.