Jonathan Kraft: Deflategate game might have been Ryan Grigson's 'pinnacle'

ByMike Reiss ESPN logo
Monday, January 23, 2017

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Patriots obviously haven't forgotten who started Deflategate, as team president Jonathan Kraft expressed little sympathy for former Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson, who was relieved of his duties on Saturday.

On Kraft's weekly pregame interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub on Sunday, Kraft initially deflected a question about the Colts' firing of Grigson, before referring to the AFC Championship Game against Indianapolis that started Deflategate. Said Kraft: "That game might have been Ryan's pinnacle, I don't know."

The Patriots beat the Colts 45-7 in the conference title game on Jan. 18, 2015.

Grigson later explained why he alerted the NFL about the Patriots' footballs, saying he wanted an even playing field. The Wells report also detailed Grigson's role in alerting the NFL via email before the AFC Championship Game.

Kraft had initially resisted answering a question on Grigson while speaking to co-hosts Marc Bertrand and Christopher Gasper in the pregame interview on Sunday, saying they would have to ask Colts owner Jim Irsay.

But before the next question was asked, Kraft made the comment about the game possibly being Grigson's pinnacle.

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