‘Deflategate’: Colts GM reportedly asked NFL to check Patriots’ balls

With the Super Bowl over, the final vestige of the 2014 NFL season could be the league’s ongoing investigation into whether the New England Patriots intentionally used underinflated balls during the AFC championship game.

According to ProFootballTalk.com, Troy Vincent, NFL executive vice president of football operations, said during an interview that airs on Showtime Tuesday night that Indianapolis Colts General Manager Ryan Grigson asked the NFL to look into whether the Patriots were playing with tampered footballs.

Vincent said Grigson made his request during the second quarter of the game. Vincent didn’t say how Grigson became alerted to the possibility that the Patriots were playing with underinflated balls. Grigson has not spoken publicly about the controversy.

Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson denied a report that he noticed one of the balls was underinflated after picking off a Tom Brady pass during the game. He said he only wanted the ball as a souvenir.

“I wouldn’t know how that could even be an advantage or a disadvantage,” Jackson told NFL.com. “I definitely wouldn’t be able to tell if one ball had less pressure than another.”

Colts Coach Chuck Pagano also denied knowledge of the Patriots’ balls being underinflated until a day after the game. The Patriots won the game, 45-7.

Showtime will air Vincent’s interview on “Inside the NFL” on Tuesday at 9 p.m. PST.

The NFL said last week that its investigation into the “Deflategate” controversy could take weeks to complete.