Things have seemed to have died down with the potential “Spygate 2.0” in New England as the Patriots and rest of the NFL head into the postseason.
But there was a slight update on Wednesday. Perhaps an update Bills fans don’t want to hear, though.
According to a report from The Washington Post, there’s still no evidence linking the Patriots’ videotaping of the Bengals sideline to New England head coach Bill Belichick.
The report also indicates that the punishment will be minor and that there’s no evidence that the Patriots had a competitive advantage from the videotaping. The investigation into the situation could be coming to an end this week as well.
The report reads:
The league’s investigation of the latest video incident involving the Patriots is winding down and could be completed as soon as this week, according to those people. They said it remains likely at this point, barring the last-minute uncovering of more damaging evidence, that the NFL will impose penalties consistent with those handed out in recent years in other cases of game-day infractions.
That would mean that the Patriots probably would be facing a fine in the hundreds of thousands of dollars and possibly the loss or reduction in value of a draft pick.
It is not clear, however, when the NFL will announce a decision. Once NFL security officials complete their investigation and submit their findings, Commissioner Roger Goodell and other league leaders still must review those findings, decide whether to conduct additional interviews, deliberate over the potential penalties and determine when to announce the ruling.
But there is no indication at this point that Belichick or the Patriots’ football staff has been tied to the video or that the investigation has uncovered evidence of a sustained, organized effort by the Patriots to gain a competitive on-field advantage, according to those people with knowledge of the case.
Although the official statement has yet to be released by the NFL, it appears that Belichick and the Patriots are going to avoid big punishments.
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