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The New England Patriots have asked the NFL to reinstate John Jastremski and Jim McNally, the suspended employees who allegedly had a role to take air out of game balls in the Deflategate scandal. NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed Wednesday that the request is under review by the league.
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The Patriots suspended Jastremski, the team's equipment assistant, and McNally, the team's officials locker room attendant, after the Ted Wells investigation into whether quarterback Tom Brady and the Patriots conspired to break rules by intentionally deflating game balls in the AFC Championship game.
The Patriots suspended Jastremski and McNally despite the team denying any wrongdoing. Team sources had told ESPN that the club was informed by league officials that if it didn't suspend Jastremski and McNally, the NFL would do so. Jastremski and McNally are banned from working for the Patriots until they are cleared by the NFL.
---New York Giants coach Tom Coughlin said Wednesday that franchise-tagged defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul is not ready to play since he severely damaged his hand in a July 4 fireworks accident.
Coughlin said Pierre-Paul was "in an outstanding frame of mind" during his two days visiting the Giants and has returned home to south Florida. Coughlin added that Pierre-Paul is "optimistic" and the Giants will continue to "monitor" his progress.
Giants officials met with JPP on Tuesday, but the discussions apparently broke down because the sides could not agree on Pierre-Paul's readiness to play. Pierre-Paul left without signing his one-year, $14.8 million franchise tender. That number counts on the Giants' salary cap even though Pierre-Paul is not playing at the moment.
---The Giants and quarterback Eli Manning reportedly are closing in on a contract extension.
NFL Media's Ian Rapoport reported that "significant progress" was made on a new deal, citing sources informed of the negotiations. According to the report, there is optimism on both sides that a new deal could be reached by Sunday, when the Giants open the season in Dallas against the Cowboys. Manning said Tuesday that he wanted to sign a deal before the start of the season.
---Five days before their season opener, the Philadelphia Eagles ended talks with quarterback Sam Bradford on a contract extension, ESPN's Ed Werder reported.
According to the report, the tenor of the discussions changed after Bradford's strong preseason, which included a 10-of-10, 121-yard, three-touchdown performance against the Green Bay Packers on Aug. 29. Bradford, 27, is entering the final year of his contract, during which he will make $12.95 million.
The Eagles acquired Bradford in the offseason with a draft pick from the St. Louis Rams for Nick Foles, a 2015 fourth-round pick and a 2016 second-round draft pick.
---The NFL has invited Bruno Mars back for the halftime show at Super Bowl 50.
Multiple media outlets reported Wednesday that the pop star has been offered the headliner spot for the NFL's biggest stage on Feb. 7, 2016, in Santa Clara, Calif., at Levi's Stadium, home of the San Francisco 49ers. Mars previously fronted the Super Bowl XLVIII halftime show in 2014 with a guest appearance from the Red Hot Chili Peppers.
---With Kam Chancellor still holding out from the Seattle Seahawks, coach Pete Carroll ruled the safety out of the team's season opener.
"He's not here so he's not playing. That's it," Carroll said at practice Wednesday.
Cornerback Richard Sherman said, according to Sports Radio KJR, "Everybody's disappointed. You expect to have him." Sherman added that he doesn't know when Chancellor might rejoin the Seahawks but that his teammates understand his position.
---New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan is under investigation in connection to an incident at a nightclub last weekend.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune obtained a statement from New Orleans Police Department about the incident reported early Sunday morning. A woman told police that she and her boyfriend "got into an altercation with a male subject identified as Cameron Jordan" at the location of Republic New Orleans nightclub, according to police Tuesday night.
According to WWL-TV in New Orleans, Jordan allegedly exchanged words with a woman and then was confronted by her boyfriend in the bathroom. The incident may have been sparked by Jordan spraying champagne, according to the WWL-TV report.
---The Kansas City Chiefs placed offensive lineman Paul Fanaika on injured reserve and re-signed veteran linebacker Dezman Moses.
The moves come four days before Sunday's opener in Houston against the Texans.
Fanaika, who signed a three-year deal worth $8.1 million guaranteed in the offseason, spent time with the first-string offensive line while other players were hurt, swapping between guard and tackle. Fanaika, 29, apparently was injured at some point after the Chiefs made their final cuts to a 53-man roster Saturday, but the team has not revealed any details.
Moses, 26, is coming off a solid preseason in which he recorded five tackles and eight quarterback hurries. He was released Sunday to make room for tight end Brian Parker, who was claimed off waivers from the San Diego Chargers.
---The Giants signed linebacker Jasper Brinkley after he was released by the Dallas Cowboys.
Brinkley was cut Monday despite the Cowboys guaranteeing him $2 million in his two-year, $6.5 million deal he signed as a free agent in March. The Giants and Cowboys meet in Sunday night's season opener in Dallas.
The 6-foot-1, 252-pound Brinkley has played in 79 regular-season games with 33 starts for the Minnesota Vikings (2009-12 and 2014) and Arizona Cardinals (2013). Brinkley missed the 2011 season because of a hip injury he suffered in the preseason. In 2014, Brinkley played in all 16 games for the fourth time in his career, with 11 starts for the Vikings. He had 85 tackles and his only career sack.
---The Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed tackle Martin Wallace to the practice squad.
The 6-foot-6, 330-pound Wallace originally entered the league as a college free agent with the Cleveland Browns in 2013, playing in one game for the team that season. He was waived by Cleveland at the end of the 2014 preseason and added to the Carolina Panthers' practice squad, where he spent the 2014 season as well as this past offseason and preseason.
---The Atlanta Falcons signed guard Ben Garland to the practice squad on Wednesday.
The 6-foot-5, 275-pound Garland was originally signed by the Denver Broncos as a college free agent following the 2010 NFL Draft out of Air Force.
In 2010, the Broncos placed Garland on the reserve/military list to serve his two-year military commitment. Garland returned in 2012, and spent two years on the Broncos' practice squad. In 2014, he saw action in eight games with Denver.
---The prospects for the Miami Dolphins on the offensive line got a lot better when it was revealed that Branden Albert will start at left tackle in Sunday's opener at Washington.
Albert, who tore the ACL and MCL in his right knee in November, is among Miami's best players, regardless of position, and should help the offensive line greatly. It was unknown before Wednesday whether a knee injury would keep him from playing in the opener.
---The Patriots signed defensive back Justin Coleman to the 53-man roster from the Seattle Seahawks' practice squad and placed offensive lineman Bryan Stork on injured reserve on the eve of their season opener.
The Patriots also signed linebacker Alex Singleton to the practice squad and released offensive lineman Chris Barker from the practice squad on Wednesday.
---Give me an M-I-N-I-M-U-M-W-A-G-E. That is the cry from 19 lawmakers on behalf of cheerleaders for NFL teams. The cheerleaders are currently considered independent contractors, which exempts them from minimum-wage laws.
The lawmakers sent a letter to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, laying out "abuses" against cheerleaders including failure to receive pay in a timely manner, unreimbursed expenses and illegal deductions from earnings for minor infractions.
According to SI.com, cheerleaders for the Oakland Raiders, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New York Jets, Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals filed wage lawsuits in the past year. A California law passed this summer designates professional sports team cheerleaders as employees.
