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New England Patriots: DeflateGate judgment before 2015 Draft Day

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The New England Patriots are still waiting to hear what their punishment will be, if any, for the DeflateGate scandal - but they won’t have to wait much longer. With the 2015 NFL Draft just three weeks away, Bill Belichick and the Pats are busy targeting their best options for beefing up their roster and repeating as Super Bowl champions. But they need to know which if any draft picks they’ll be forfeiting, and they’ll know as much soon enough.

The investigation into whether the New England Patriots inappropriately and/or intentionally deflated the footballs ahead of the AFC Championship game cast a cloud over their Super Bowl victory, and has dragged on for months since. The story continues to get more complicated and involves everything from a ballboy who may or may not have been acting as a lone wolf to a referee who was subsequently fired for unrelated fraud. Unless the league report contains bombshells about the involvement of Tom Brady or Bill Belichick in the deflation, the team is unlikely to see any suspensions. But a lost draft pick could be on the docket.

The Atlanta Falcons were recently docked a late round draft pick for pumping fake crowd noise into the stadium during home games, and the NFL could follow a similar template with the New England Patriots for DeflateGate, depending on the finalized evidence. But the league knows that it must make any such moves ahead of the draft, meaning that the final report will be issued within the next few weeks one way or the other. Regardless of the result, it will allow the Pats to put the scandal behind them and move forward with their title defense, with or without all of their draft picks intact.

DeflateGate: New England Patriots vs Falcons, Browns 2015 suspensions

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The New England Patriots are still being investigated by the NFL over the “DeflateGate” accusations of cheating by reducing the air pressure of the football during the AFC Championship game, but in the mean time the league has handed down punishments to two other teams accused of cheating, the Atlanta Falcons and the Cleveland Browns. Both were given slaps on the wrist. But heading into the NFL Draft, is that good news for the Patriots?

The key of course is whether the New England Patriots are found guilty of intentional cheating or whether the investigation concludes that there was no ill intent involved. If it’s the former, the punishment could be anywhere from a monetary fine to a loss of a draft pick to a suspension of anyone with direct knowledge of what was going on.

The Falcons admit to pumping in fake crowd noise to try to gain an advantage, and they’ve been docked a late round draft pick. The Browns GM sent a text message that broke a rule so obscure most fans didn’t know it existed, and he’s been suspended during a time of year that his presence wouldn’t have mattered anyway. But is this a sign that the NFL is looking to sweep all such issues under the rug in order to get the focus back onto actual football? Or have these two minor issues been swept aside so the league can drop the hammer on the New England Patriots? The answer will come before Draft Day one way or the other.

Michael Crabtree free agency: New England Patriots, San Francisco 49ers

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Michael Crabtree is the top wide receiver remaining on the 2015 NFL free agent market, after Stevie Johnson spurned the New England Patriots to sign with the San Diego Chargers. That means the Pats may have no choice but to target Crabtree in their efforts to boost a receiving corps which was a relative weak spot on their Super Bowl winning roster. But it’s also time to ask whether the receiver may end up back with his old San Francisco 49ers team.

Coincidentally or not, there has been an exodus of talent from San Francisco since head coach Jim Harbaugh was forced out at the end of the season. The 49ers have lost everyone from Patrick Willis to Frank Gore as the team attempts to make itself over under new head coach Jim Tomsula. For some time, that exodus has appeared to include Michael Crabtree. But with as long as he’s now been on the market, either the demand for his services isn’t as high as he had expected, or he’s having second thoughts about leaving the 49ers.

Still, if Michael Crabtree does jump ship, the New England Patriots seem the most logical landing spot. It would give Crabtree a legitimate shot at a championship, and perhaps more importantly, an opportunity to catch passes from Tom Brady.