By Randy Whitehouse,Staff Writer

FOXBORO, Mass. – Tom Brady went to work Tuesday, prepared to do some damage control regarding rumors about his arm.

When he got to the Patriots’ locker room, though, he discovered he had a far more pressing concern, fending off razzing from his teammates over his soon-to-be released GQ photo spread.

The Boston Herald published a couple of photos from the magazine Tuesday – one with Brady holding a goat, the other of him lounging with some dogs – and some of his teammates ran with it, taping the photos up in the locker room in case any of the players or coaches missed it.

Brady couldn’t escape the ribbing when he took the Gillette Stadium field for practice, either. That’s because center Dan Koppen and tackle Matt Light had the photos taped to the back of their jerseys.

“I got it bad today,” Brady said following the team’s practice on the final day of training camp. “I think I’m going to have to deal with it for a few days, but I guess I deserve it.”

Brady’s modeling career, combined with some hazing that had the rookies sporting some rather creative haircuts, made for a light-hearted workout as the Patriots prepared for their second game of the preseason against the New Orleans Saints on Thursday night.

Brady did not play or even suit up for New England’s exhibition opener last Friday against Cincinnati. That, and a light workload in the days leading up to the game, led to some speculation that his arm was bothering him.

But the quarterback has thrown in every practice since the Patriots returned from Cincinnati and is scheduled to start Thursday night. He said that the coaching staff is limiting his throwing as a preventative measure rather than nursing any existing arm problems.

Brady said his arm has become fatigued during prior seasons and that going easy now might help lessen or even eliminate that dead-arm period later.

“As quarterbacks, we throw a lot. We throw hard every day, and it’s not like baseball. Those guys throw hard and get a few days off,” he said. “It’s a different throwing motion and different mechanics. But for the most part you’re throwing the ball hard, and it’s nice for us quarterbacks to try to get a little bit of rest, too.”

“The last thing you want is to start the regular season at Week 1 and miss Wednesday or Thursday practice because something’s sore or because you’re tired,” he added. “You’d rather kind of build into the year than to work backward later on.”

He said he doesn’t know how much he’ll play against New Orleans. Coach Bill Belichick said both Brady and Doug Flutie, who also sat out the first game, will see action Thursday night, but he wasn’t sure how much.

“I expect Tom to play. Exactly how much time …some of that is a function of the people that are in there with him, some of it’s a function of what we think he needs,” Belichick said.

Brady said he hoped to bring all of the speculation to an end, but added he’s more worried about getting ready for the Saints.

“It just comes down to I know the reason why I’m not throwing and Coach (Belichick) does, and in a lot of ways, that’s the only people that matter,” he said.