Kraft: ‘Ask our fine commissioner' about picks

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It has been a busy week for Patriots chairman and CEO Robert Kraft. He celebrated recently-retired linebacker Jerod Mayo on Thursday, attended Team IMPACT's Game-Day Gala on Thursday night, and he took part in the NFL Annual Meetings in Boca Raton, Fla. earlier this week.

It was at those meetings that Kraft told reporters he sent NFL commissioner Roger Goodell a letter explaining why the Patriots should have their 2016 first-round pick returned, saying the issue was "in the league's hands now."

But on Wednesday, Goodell explained during a press conference that there would be no change in the discipline he issued to the Patriots -- he docked the team their first-rounder, a fourth-rounder in 2017 and slapped quarterback Tom Brady with a four-game suspension -- for its alleged role in Deflategate.

When Kraft was asked about the issue of his team's lost draft picks on Thursday night, he said, "You'll have to ask our fine commissioner about it. We've done everything we can do."

The NFL Draft will take place from April 28-30, and as of right now, the Patriots have no selections on Day 1 of the draft.

The team could potentially trade up into the first round, but the penalty it has received dictates that it cannot pick higher than pick No. 29. As explained by the league in its Deflategate punishment, if the Patriots trade up into the first round, they will lose the higher of their two picks.

By finishing last season as the AFC runner-up, they were issued the No. 29 overall draft slot. Should the Patriots trade for pick No. 28 or any higher selection, they would lose that pick and pick at No. 29. Should they trade for pick No. 30, 31 or 32, they would lose No. 29 and make the pick for which they traded.

Both Kraft and team president Jonathan Kraft have made their frustrations with the league apparent over the last few days. Jonathan told Patriots Insider Tom E. Curran earlier this week that team ownership is "extremely angry, disappointed, frustrated [and] confused" about how the league has handled Deflategate.

Robert Kraft's quick remark Thursday serves as an indication that perhaps those feelings have not quite subsided, and that they may not subside for some time.

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