AP

At a time when it has been widely viewed as a given that the appeal of the decision scrapping Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s suspension won’t be resolved until after the season, the NFL reportedly believes otherwise.

Craig Carton of WFAN says he was with a “very influential person in the NFL” on Thursday, and “there’s no doubt in [the person’s] mind” that Brady will serve his suspension before the end of the season.

Here’s the problem: No briefing schedule has been set for the Brady case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. After three total briefs are submitted (the party filing the appeal gets first and last word), an oral argument is set. Then, at some point after the oral argument occurs, a decision is issued.

In this case, a decision overturning Judge Berman’s ruling likely would send the case back to him for further proceedings. At that point, he’d likely consider various unresolved questions regarding Commissioner Roger Goodell’s fitness to serve as the arbitrator of the case, and Judge Berman most likely would allow Brady to keep playing while that aspect of the case is resolved.

If Carton’s report is accurate (and I’ve got no reason to doubt him), it shows that the NFL’s assessment of the case remains skewed to the point of delusional. As a practical matter, there’s no way Brady will serve a suspension this year unless the Patriots have the No. 1 seed in the AFC clinched by December and the Patriots persuade Brady to broker a settlement that reduces the suspension to two games in which he wouldn’t be playing anyway.