Report: Patriots Have Applied For Reinstatement Of Jastremski, McNally
BOSTON (CBS) -- John Jastremski and Jim McNally, the two Patriots equipment staffers in the middle of the recent DeflateGate saga, could be back with the team soon.
According to Pro Football Talk, the Patriots have asked the NFL to reinstate the two, who were suspended following the release of the Wells Report.
The Patriots have said the league suggested they suspend the two workers, something the NFL has denied. The league has to approve their reinstatement, though as late as Tuesday morning, they denied the Patriots had made such a request. In a Twitter chat on Monday, NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said the NFL had not heard anything from the Patriots, something Roger Goodell repeated in a radio interview on Tuesday.
But according to PFT's Mike Florio, the request has indeed been made by New England:
The request was made on or before late Monday afternoon. It definitely was made before Tuesday; it possibly was made before Vincent said the league hadn't heard from the Patriots.
It's also possible that the people who have said the request wasn't made weren't told that a request had been made. Either way, the request has been made.
That seems about par for the course with everything else that has been reported on the DeflateGate front.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said on Wednesday that the request is under review, according to the Associated Press.
Text messages between Jastremski and McNally were highlighted in the Wells Report as the league's hard evidence against Tom Brady, who was suspended four games for being "generally aware" that the two staffers were deflating footballs after their pregame inspection by the league. In one text, McNally referred to himself as "the deflator," but neither staffer was ever called by the league to testify under oath.
Brady's suspension was thrown out in federal court last week.