Despite the New England Patriots’ stunning Super Bowl victory in February, ‘Deflate-Gate’ has not gone anywhere. A recent scathing report implying that marquee star Tom Brady was fully aware of the practice of deflating footballs has re-energized media and fans.

Following days of speculation about punishment for the Patriots organization, head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady, ProFootballTalk released news Saturday stating the league is expected to suspend Brady; however, the length of the suspension won’t be made known until an announcement next week.

The article reveals that Roger Goodell wants to proceed with a suspension for two reasons: Brady’s involvement in the practice of deflating footballs to better his performance, and his refusal to allow Tom Wells access to his cell phone to fully investigate the situation.

The possibility of benching Brady has got to have Patriot members shaking their heads in frustration, as any length of suspension will affect the Week 1 face-off between the Steelers and Patriots in Foxborough. For the league, this is most definitely the worst case scenario for the game they selected to kick off the 2015 NFL season.

If the reports by ProFootball Talk turn out to have merit, that means that not only will Brady not be a part of the Week 1 game, but the Patriots will also be facing their opponents without LeGarrette Blount, who was found guilty of violating the league’s substance abuse policy last August. The Steelers will also be minus player Le’Veon Bell, who was also in violation of the substance abuse policy.

What was billed as a big-ticket matchup between Tom Brady and Ben Roethlisberger now seems set to be Roethlisberger vs. Jimmy Garoppolo – a horse of an entirely different color.