John Jastremski and Jim McNally have been suspended since May and can only return to their jobs with approval from NFL senior vice president Troy Vincent. The Patriots made that request earlier this week.
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McNally, the officials’ locker room attendant at Gilette Stadium, is the man accused of taking game balls into the bathroom shortly before kickoff and deflating them. Jastremski, an equipment assistant for the team, was responsible for preparing the footballs. Text messages between the two were presented in the Wells Report as evidence of cheating, but neither was called to testify during the various hearings surrounding the case.
Thought as team employees who aren’t players they aren’t subject to the collective bargaining agreement, the league office must still sign off on their return to work. Now that Tom Brady is off the hook — pending the NFL’s appeal, at least — their status is back under review.
