The Patriots have released safety John Lynch and wide receiver Chad Jackson, according to NFL.com. New England signed Lynch a little more than two weeks ago, and Bill Belichick has left open the possibilty of adding him to the roster later in the season. "It goes without saying but John is an all-time great safety, one of the league's classiest professionals and his elite play speaks for itself," Belichick said. "As has been the case in other situations, I would not rule anything out down the road." Lynch, a nine-time Pro Bowler, has been released twice this year. "I have no regrets about my time thus far with the Patriots," Lynch said. "The immense respect that I've long held for the organization has been only heightened over the past couple of weeks. I am going to keep all options open and look forward with excitement to see what the future brings."

The NFL has suspended New England Patriots' running back Kevin Faulk for one game for violating the league's substance abuse policy, according to Associated Press. He will miss the team's season-opener against Kansas City. Faulk had 47 catches for 383 yards and one touchdown in 2007. He also had 62 rushes for 265 yards.

ESPN?s Chris Mortensen reported on Monday night that Tom Brady has a ?deep bone bruise.? Mortensen said the team initially feared a stress fracture, but a CT scan revealed no major damage. The only solid information to report is that the injury is not bad enough that he can?t practice as Brady was on the field Monday and moving around without an obvious problem.

Tom Brady has missed three consecutive games in the preseason but fully expects to be ready for the Patriots' opening game against the Chiefs. "If I don't play [Thursday, when the Patriots play the Giants in their preseason finale,] then I'll be ready for Kansas City," Brady said on an appearance on WEEI Radio's Dennis & Callahan Show. Despite his absence from the team's preseason games, Brady said his foot is feeling good. "I'm feeling very good. I'm feeling very good. ? I was wishing I could play last week and it didn't happen. It will be the same thing this week. I'm hoping I'm out there and if I'm not, I'm not. I'm trying to get better as fast as I can, and in the ways I know how; it's been making improvements, there is no doubt about it," he told WEEI Radio.

Tom Brady may miss New England's preseason game against Philadelphia on Friday because of his right foot injury, according to The Boston Globe. "I'm not sure. I'm not sure. I'm trying to get treatment this week and I'm feeling better every day," Brady said Monday. "It's going to end up being up to coach [Bill Belichick] and what he wants to do, but I think he's been coaching long enough to understand that the first game in September is what's going to be important for us." Brady has yet to take the field this preseason. "You know the preseason is important, but I think the idea is to be ready for when the regular season kicks off," said Brady. "If I can be out there, then I'll be out there, but it remains to be seen. We spent some time this weekend getting treatment on my foot and hoping that it responds quickly, like it usually does."

Patriots' owner Robert Kraft believes that the NFL could lengthen the regular season in the near future, according to The Boston Globe. "The bottom line," said Kraft, "is that I think you'll see us going to 17 or 18 regular-season games in the future." NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell hinted at extending the season back in May and mentioned it once again recently to reporters. "We have to grow the pie; the biggest way of quickly growing the pie is in the media area," Kraft said. "The feeling is that we would get greater revenue for media if we had more regular-season games."

The Patriots will be playing musical chairs with their backup quarterbacks. They have seen too much good out of backup quarterback Matt Gutierrez to release him. They invested a third-round pick in April on former San Diego State quarterback Kevin O?Connell, so he has to be a keeper. The odd man out could turn out to be Matt Cassel, who has one year left on his contract and could leave New England after this season anyway. The former seventh-round pick who has spent the past three seasons in New England could be dangled in a trade with the hope of recouping a late-round pick. Two teams to watch there are the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, but they might be more interested in Simms or Dolphins' backup quarterback John Beck.

Tom Brady spoke on WEEI Monday morning, answering questions about the leg injury that kept him home while the Patriots traveled to Tampa Bay. While he didn't give details, Brady said the current injury he has isn't the same ankle injury that dogged him in the Super Bowl. "Same side of the body, and same leg, but not the same injury," said Brady. He said it also wasn't related to an Aug. 2 bump during practice, when running back Sammy Morris accidentally kicked him during a drill. "I spent some time this weekend getting treatment on it and hoping that it responds quickly like it usually does," said Brady. "The key is not to go out there and aggravate anything when I'm not ready to go," said Brady. Obviously I'd love to be out there with my teammates, but Coach made the decision that that's not the smartest thing to do right now."

About 10 days ago, after playing phone tag with each other, Junior Seau finally spoke with Patriots' Coach Bill Belichick. The two men shared their feelings about where they are. Seau left Belichick with the message, 'call if you are interested.' Seau wants to play and wants to play for the Patriots, but at the moment they are not interested. They would like to see some of their young linebackers such as Jerod Mayo, Shawn Crable, Eric Alexander, and Bo Ruud in action.

Tom Brady has a "sore foot" and he did not make the trip to Tampa for Sunday night's preseason game.