It’s time to face facts. The New England Patriots aren’t getting their first-round draft pick back.
NFL commissioner Roger Goodell announced Wednesday at the league’s annual meeting that he replied to Patriots owner Robert Kraft’s request to recoup the first-round pick lost as part of New England’s Deflategate discipline and that he won’t reduce the punishment. Kraft had little to say when asked about it Thursday night at Team IMPACT’s Game Day Gala.
“You’ll have to ask our fine commissioner about it,” Kraft said, according to CSNNE.com. “We’ve done everything we can do.”
The Patriots figure to have plenty of picks in this year’s NFL draft as a result of trades, but they still don’t have a first-round selection, and that’s unlikely to change anytime soon. Even if New England trades up into the first round, it will come with complications.
Based on the Deflategate penalty levied by the league, the Patriots can’t pick higher than No. 29 overall — the first-round pick they would have garnered by virtue of finishing as the AFC runner-up last season — in next month’s draft. If they trade up to a spot higher than No. 29, the Patriots will be forced to vacate that selection, regardless of what spot it is, and pick at No. 29.
The NFL draft is scheduled to take place April 28-30. You can bet Kraft and the Patriots would love to knock this one out of the park and land a solid class of players just to spite the commish.
Thumbnail photo via Ron Chenoy/USA TODAY Sports Images
