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Patriots owner Bob Kraft on Ray Rice's future

New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft joins "CBS This Morning" to discuss the Ray Rice scandal and the new NFL season
Patriots owner Bob Kraft on Ray Rice incident, Thursday Night Football 07:48

What does it mean when the NFL "indefinitely" suspends Baltimore Ravens running back Ray Rice after a video surfaced showing Rice punching his then-fiancée Janay Palmer?

To New England Patriots owner Bob Kraft, it means Rice's playing days are done.

"I don't think he will play another NFL game," Kraft said Tuesday on "CBS This Morning." "I would be shocked if some team would pick him up."

He said he would not allow Rice to be on his team.

Kraft also defended NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, who has received criticism and even calls to resign, as people questioned whether he had seen the video when he originally suspended Rice for two games. In August Goodell admitted he "didn't get it right" with the first penalty.

"[Goodell] had no knowledge of this video," Kraft said, adding that he talked with the commissioner after the video was released Monday.

He said anyone who is second-guessing that "doesn't know him."

"The way he's handled this situation himself, coming out with the mea culpa in his statement a couple weeks ago, or 10 days ago, and setting a very clear policy of how we conduct ourselves in the NFL, I thought was excellent," Kraft said.

Turning back to Rice, Kraft said "I think anyone that witnessed that video yesterday has to be outraged and really disgusted to see someone associated with [the NFL] doing something like that. Anyone who's a real man doesn't hit a woman."

Kraft also discussed one of the new features to this season - Thursday Night Football coverage on CBS, which kicks off this week with the Baltimore Ravens against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"We think that our fans want to start their weekend on Thursday night, and partnering with [CBS] is going to help us really do that," Kraft said. "Some people might question it, but those who play fantasy or love the game are tied to it, and CBS has done a wonderful job helping us establish that."

Kraft also talked about his own Patriots. When he bought the team 20 years ago, his wife thought he was crazy for spending $172 million for the team, but now he calls himself the luckiest guy in the world, with the team being valued at $2.6 billion.

"I pinch myself coming to work every day, except Sunday wasn't too good," Kraft said, referencing the Patriots' 20-33 loss to the Miami Dolphins. "I was in Miami, it wasn't the way we wanted to start. But for fans everywhere, football's back. We're excited about Thursday night," he said.

Calling Patriots quarterback Tom Brady "terrific," he also talked about Brady and his wife Giselle, who he calls "G."

"I mean they're actually a great couple," Kraft said. "And for people who are as accomplished as they are to be so down to earth, I mean - anyone who meets Tommy knows. He'll look you in the eyes, there's no one more important, and if you saw that touchdown that we scored when he threw to Gronk on Sunday, he's like a little kid in a candy store. He goes over to the end zone and he's all banging helmets and fired up, and gets everybody motivated."

While some say Brady is older for a quarterback, Kraft said he isn't concerned about the 37-year-old.

"You've just got to watch the way he prepares himself and what he does, how he trains," Kraft said. "I think he's been a great example for the younger players in our locker room, how they come in and see him. And he's very disciplined. The same way I think I'm 35, I think he thinks he's 22. And he acts like it."

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