The Washington PostDemocracy Dies in Darkness

Tom Brady is free to return to the Patriots, marking the official end of Deflategate

This place is officially no longer off limits to Tom Brady. (Steven Senne/Associated Press)

It’s over. Deflategate is really, truly over.

For proof, look to a high school football field in Brookline, Mass., the comments of his offensive coordinator and a tweet by the NFL Players Association.

Tom Brady, whose Roger Goodell-imposed exile from the NFL expired shortly after midnight, was shown working out, throwing footballs and doing quarterback-y things at Dexter Southfield. We know this because there is video evidence that he has put tanning his backside in Italy with the Mrs. behind him and is focusing on football again.

TMZ adds the ever-helpful arrow, in case you’d forgotten him:

Josh McDaniels, the New England Patriots’ offensive coordinator, reported early Monday that he had already spoken to his quarterback. It wasn’t clear yet whether Brady was back in the Patriots’ facility with his teammates, things that are now allowed.

“I haven’t seen him,” McDaniels told WEEI’s “Kirk and Callahan” show. “We spoke briefly this morning. That was it.”

In banning Tom Brady, NFL hoped to gash Patriots. Turns out, it was just a scratch.

And, lest you think there’s any residual hangover from Deflategate, the players’ union tweeted Sunday evening that it officially has “decided not to pursue additional appeals” after consulting Brady and legal counsel.

Julian Edelman, Brady’s favorite receiver and an erstwhile substitute at quarterback during the suspension, summed it up best with one word: