Peter King’s Monday Morning Quarterback column re-ignited conversation of the draft picks the Patriots lost as punishment in the Deflategate saga. CSNNE.com Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran wrote about it Monday, and later discussed on Quick Slants The Podcast.
The likelihood of the Patriots recouping the 2016 first-round and 2017 fourth-round picks is essentially nonexistent. Curran wrote as much in his column. And at the 12:28 mark of Quick Slants The Podcast, Curran puts what he knows of each side’s thinking on the table.
“The Patriots believe they have an opportunity to get something back — somehow. But they think that the only way they can do that is by shutting up,” Curran said.
As for the NFL …
“There are [people high enough up the chain] who will not dispute the notion that the Patriots were overcharged on this, that the punishment was too strong. However those same people, who are in positions of influence, will also say in the next breath, ‘We can’t just say it’s okay, nothing happened, because we believe something has happened and did happen.’ So as a result, if there is no moving forward by the New England Patriots, whether it be from the ownership or Tom Brady to say there was some culpability: ‘Maybe these equipment managers acted untoward at some point. Perhaps there’s a possibility of that.’ Then they can’t move forward.”
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