Tom Brady is back with the Patriots. Consider the rest of the NFL on notice.

Deflategate – remember that? – is over. Tom Brady is back. Does the rest of the NFL stand a chance?

The first four weeks of the New England Patriots’ season were about the brilliant maneuverings of Coach Bill Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels. But now the mixing and matching and patching are over. Brady rejoined the Patriots on Monday after his four-game suspension ended, and his chase for a fifth Super Bowl triumph in tandem with Belichick begins with Sunday’s game at Cleveland.

“I think the down time was strange for him,” former Patriots fullback Heath Evans said this week. “I don’t think being back will be strange for him. I’m sure he was ready to go at 12:01 a.m. on Monday . The hard part is over and done with. This part is what they’ve done for 17 years.”

McDaniels said he thinks that Brady returned to the team in good physical condition and prepared to thrive, as always.“I didn’t notice any difference,” he said in a conference call with reporters early this week. “It was four weeks and it felt like it went fast, and Tommy is ready to go and looks ready to go.”

Brady’s return comes at a good time for the Patriots, who were shut out last Sunday at home in a 16-0 defeat to the Buffalo Bills. Even so, it’s difficult to imagine that they could have emerged from Brady’s suspension in any better shape. They went 3-1. Brady returns rested and fresh, needing to endure only a dozen regular season games before getting to the games that truly matter in the postseason.

Brady and the Patriots might not have to do too much heavy lifting Sunday against the winless Browns. But when things become difficult, Brady will have a talented and multi-faceted offense at his disposal. “I hope there is an adjustment period,” Browns Coach Hue Jackson said in a conference call. “I wouldn’t think there will be for him. He’s well prepared. He understands how to play this game… . This is Tom Brady we’re talking about.”

Tailback LeGarrette Blount is the NFL’s third-leading rusher. Wide receiver Chris Hogan has demonstrated that he can be an effective complement to Julian Edelman and Danny Amendola. Tight end Martellus Bennett leads the team in receiving yards and ranks second in catches. The Patriots have demonstrated in the past that they know how to take full advantage of having two capable pass-catching tight ends. Rob Gronkowski has been slowed by a hamstring injury and has only one catch this season. leading him to joke that he is being harassed by those who drafted him in fantasy leagues.

“I think the two guys that will benefit the most from the Brady return are Hogan and Rob Gronkowski,” Evans said. “Gronk will get his touches like he usually does. With Hogan, I think he’ll benefit from the defense having to account for those other guys.”

Is this the beginning of a Deflategate revenge tour for Brady and the Patriots? They had the first 16-0 regular season in NFL history in 2007 in the aftermath of the Spygate scandal. And last season with Brady’s Deflategate decision kept on hold – temporarily, as it turned out – by a federal judge’s ruling, the Patriots won their first 10 games in what looked like a repeat performance. But problems along the offensive line and injuries to key members of Brady’s supporting cast on offense led to a 2-4 finish to the regular season that cost the Patriots the top seed in the playoffs. They lost at Denver in the AFC title game.