The Sports Xchange

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady’s four-game suspension was nullified by U.S. District Court Judge Richard M. Berman on Thursday.

The action clears Brady to get back to football and his starting job with the defending Super Bowl champions one week before they open the season against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

An appeal was filed by the NFL to preserve the commissioner’s hierarchy as defined by the collective bargaining agreement. However, the league will not seek a stay of the decision to keep Brady suspended during the process.

Berman said in his 40-page opinion issued Thursday morning that the NFL did not honor the CBA when Brady was suspended without notice that discipline “would or could be the same as applied to a player who violated the NFL Policy on Anabolic Steroids and Related Substances.”

—Commissioner Roger Goodell will not be in attendance at Gillette Stadium for the NFL opener between the Patriots and the Pittsburgh Steelers next Thursday, an NFL spokesman told FOX Sports.

Goodell “believes the focus should be on the game on the field and the festivities celebrating the Patriots’ Super Bowl championship.”

—Denver Broncos Pro Bowl safety T.J. Ward will sit out the season opener against the Baltimore Ravens on Sept. 13.

The NFL announced Thursday that Ward received a one-game suspension for violating the league’s personal-conduct policy.

The suspension stems from a May 2014 incident at a strip club that occurred shortly after Ward signed a four-year, $22.5 million contract with the Broncos last year. Ward faced misdemeanor charges that were later dropped.

—Jason Pierre-Paul is planning to return to the New York Giants next week and hopes to play in the near future, ESPN.com reported Thursday.

Pierre-Paul lost his right index finger, broke his thumb and suffered severe burns on his hands after a fireworks accident on the Fourth of July in south Florida.

The 26-year-old defensive lineman refused to meet with Giants doctors after the accident and has kept his distance from the team since then, which upset the Giants’ owners. However, Pierre-Paul has been in contact with Giants coach Tom Coughlin, defensive line coach Robert Nunn and several teammates.