default-cbs-image

For the first time in nine months, Tom Brady is going to play in an actual game for the New England Patriots. According to the Boston Herald, Brady is expected to make his preseason debut when the Patriots host the Bears on Thursday night.

If you're dying to see Brady play, make sure to tune in early because it doesn't sound like he's going to be on the field for very long. Brady, who's expected to start the game, will just get a "little" bit of playing time, according to NFL.com.

Whatever amount of playing time he gets against Chicago, it will definitely be more than last week. Brady was given the night off for the Patriots' preseason opener so that he could attend the memorial service of a family member.

Apparently, coach Bill Belichick also wanted to give Brady the night off against the Bears: NFL.com reported early on Thursday that there was a chance Brady would take "no snaps" against the Bears.

That being said, it wouldn't be surprising to find out that Brady talked his way into some playing time for Thursday's game. After all, it's going to be his final chance to play at home until October.

The game against the Bears will be the final home game of the preseason for the Patriots. If you factor that in with Brady's four-game suspension, it means that the quarterback won't get to play another home game until a Week 6 game against the Bengals on Oct. 16.

That means everyone at Gillette will have to wait roughly two months before they see Brady on field again after Thursday.

Of course, there's always the chance that Belichick is just playing mind games with everyone and Brady won't see the field on Thursday.

Anyway, one thing you can definitely expect against the Bears is to see a lot of Jimmy Garoppolo. Garoppolo will look to improve upon the 168 yard performance (11 of 18, 0 TD, 0 INT) he had during New England's 34-22 preseason win over the Saints last week.