Patriots focused on getting Jimmy Garoppolo ready

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick acknowledged on Wednesday that Jimmy Garoppolo will have to start the first four games of the season at quarterback and said the top priority of training camp would be to get the former backup ready.

“We have finally some definition with Tom’s situation,” Belichick said of Tom Brady before declining to comment further on the “Deflategate” scandal that engulfed the NFL and one of its most successful franchises for 18 months.

“Tom will retu as the starting quarterback when he comes back, but in the meantime we have to prioritize the first part of our schedule and that’ll be to get Jimmy ready to go.”

Brady was suspended four games and the team was docked $1 million and two draft picks for what the league said was a scheme to illegally deflate the footballs used in the 2015 AFC championship game.

The four-time Super Bowl champion was supposed to sit out the first four games last season, but appeals dragged it out through this summer.

The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Brady this month, and the quarterback said he would not pursue an unlikely appeal with the U.S. Supreme Court. Belichick said he didn’t change what he was doing to track the ups and downs of the saga.

“Really I never dealt with it until I would say the decision has been made that looks like, `This is what it’s going to be,”’ he said.

“It’s been in some version of litigation, appeal, appeal depending on how the litigation goes. It’s been in the same place for a year and a half, basically. There’s definition to it now. We’ll move forward based on that definition.”

Moving forward means that Garoppolo will need to start against Arizona on Sept. 11, and then again against the Dolphins, Texans and Bills. Belichick refused to say how he would split up the reps in practice so that both Brady and Garoppolo can get the needed work in.

“We’ll find out,” he said.

Brady is allowed to practice with the team during training camp and play in any preseason games. During the suspension, he will not be allowed any contact with team officials or to work out with teammates.

Coughlin joins NFL office

Tom Coughlin will be joining the NFL’s football operations staff, a person with knowledge of the agreement tells The Associated Press.

The two-time Super Bowl-wiing coach will work closely with Troy Vincent and with the NFL’s game-related committees in an advisory role.

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The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the NFL has not yet aounced the hiring.

Coughlin won 170 games in his 20 years as an NFL head coach, including the 2007 and 2011 league championships when the Giants beat the Patriots in Super Bowls. He also was the original coach of the Jacksonville Jaguars and got them into the playoffs in 1996, their second season. He left the Giants after they went 6-10 in 2015, their fourth straight season out of the playoffs.

Considered an offensive mastermind, Coughlin sought several coaching jobs last offseason, but didn’t take any.

Ravens, Long reach deal

The Baltimore Ravens have reached an agreement with veteran offensive lineman Jake Long on a one-year contract, pending the condition of his oft-injured right knee.

Long played in four Pro Bowls after being selected by Miami as the No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 draft.

But he played sparingly in just four games with Atlanta last year after tearing his right ACL in back-to-back seasons.

The contract won’t be official until the Ravens receive more information on Long’s knee. He will visit Dr. James Andrews to receive an assessment of the knee, coach John Harbaugh said Wednesday.

The Ravens are willing to sign the 31-year-old Long if they’re not on the hook to pay him for the entire season if he’s forced out with another knee injury.

Baltimore has been looking for another tackle since releasing Eugene Monroe last month.

Short yardage

The Miesota Vikings have signed five-time All-Pro defensive tackle Kevin Williams to a one-day contract so he can formally retire as a member of the team. Williams will finalize his retirement today after 13 seasons, including 11 with Miesota. ... The Carolina Panthers have signed safety Kurt Coleman to a three-year contract extension through the 2019 season. Coleman led the Panthers and finished tied for third in the NFL with career-high seven interceptions in his first season in Carolina last year. ... Dallas defensive end Randy Gregory is facing a longer suspension over another violation of the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, and owner Jerry Jones says he doesn’t expect to see the troubled player at training camp in Califoia. With Gregory already suspended for the first four games this season, Jones said that the Cowboys haven’t heard from the league about a possible 10-game ban for another failed drug test. ... The Arizona Cardinals signed linebacker Donald Butler and released linebacker Quayshawn Nealy, two days before their first training camp practice.