FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- If New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is suspended for the first four games of the 2016 regular season, does that open the door for a rival to win the AFC East for the first time since 2008?

Count New York Jets receiver Eric Decker among those who believes the answer is "yes."

"You gotta win your division games. With Brady being suspended four games, I think it makes the division up for grabs," Decker said this week on NFL Network's "Total Access" program from the league's annual Broadcast Bootcamp.

Decker's remarks, in which he expressed his belief that the Jets are ready for a playoff run, provide a springboard to revisit where things stand now with Brady, whose legal team has until May 23 to file an appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.

While we wait for that domino to potentially fall, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com previously detailed how, regardless of whether the court would agree to hear the appeal, there is still a chance Brady could avoid suspension in 2016 as things work their way through the legal process.

Of the four games the Patriots would have to play without Brady should he serve the suspension -- at Arizona, and home against Miami, Houston and Buffalo -- two come in the AFC East.