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Patriots Notebook: Absent Tom Brady didn’t get political

WASHINGTON — This was not Tim Thomas 2.0.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and team president Jonathan Kraft were not in attendance yesterday for the Super Bowl champions’ trip to the White House.

Don’t read into their absences.

Brady had a family obligation, and Kraft was recovering from surgery. It was stressed there weren’t any political agendas at play, which was the case in 2011 when Thomas, the Bruins goalie, sparked his own controversy when he refused to attend the visit.

The Patriots invited all outgoing free agents to the ceremony, and cornerback Darrelle Revis, running backs Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen and linebacker Jonathan Casillas were on hand.