NFL Somehow Still Investigating Patriots Recording Bengals' Sideline is Truly Bizarre

Remember when the New England Patriots were under fire after a member of their video crew was caught filming the Cincinnati Bengals' sideline ahead of the regular season meeting between the two teams? It seems like a lifetime ago, but somehow, the matter is still unresolved.

ProFootballTalk reached out to the league offices about the investigation, and league spokesman Brian McCarthy replied "the matter remains under review."

Really? After all this time?

During a pre-Super Bowl press conference on Jan. 29, commissioner Roger Goodell told the media that the league was going to be "extremely thorough" with the investigation before reaching a final decision. He wasn't lying, as we're in the middle of April already.

The recording incident took place during a Dec. 8 game between the Bengals and Cleveland Browns. A member of the Patriots' in-house video production team was caught filming Cincinnati's sideline in the press box by a team staffer. Even though the Patriots admitted that the production member did record the sidelines, which is not permitted, they stressed the team had no intent to use it to their advantage for the following week's matchup against the Bengals, and that the Pats' football staff had nothing to do with coordinating the video crew's activities.

Reports this past January indicated that the Patriots were in danger of being disciplined by the league in the form of a fine between $200,000 and $400,000 fine and the loss of a late-round draft pick.

Given we're just a week away from the NFL Draft, it's getting more and more likely that New England's punishment -- if they do indeed get reprimanded -- won't affect their arsenal of picks until 2021.