Patriots Could Lose Draft Pick After Bengals Sideline Incident

Here is an official report from CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora:

“The New England Patriots are facing steep penalties for their admitted illegal taping of the Bengals sideline last week, league sources said, which is likely to include the loss of at least one draft pick and heavy fines.

There is the possibility of a suspension for a member of upper management and/or ownership as well, sources said, pending the results of the NFL’s full investigation into the matter.

The Patriots are repeat offenders for violating the league’s game-day operations regulations in the past — twice being stripped of first-round picks for either illegally doctoring footballs or illegally taping an opponent — which will also factor into the ultimate discipline in this case, the sources said.

The NFL takes these matters very seriously and has regularly taken away draft picks and used fines and suspensions for similar infractions, whether it be illegal use of cell phones on game day (Browns) or pumping in fake crowd noise (Falcons).”