Colts LB D'Qwell Jackson's suspension revives Deflategate subplot

It wouldn’t have seemed right to get through the rest of this NFL season without one more connection to Deflategate.

Indianapolis Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson’s four-game suspension Tuesday for violating the performance-enhancing drug policy provided an opening when it was announced on Tuesday.

Lest anyone forget, it was Jackson’s interception in the AFC Championship Game after the 2014 season that sparked the Deflategate saga, with the Colts sideline flagging the ball Jackson picked off for an apparent lack of air pressure and Indianapolis general manager Ryan Grigson subsequently bursting into an NFL suite to claim the New England Patriots were playing with a small ball. (For his part, Jackson has said he didn't know the ball was under-inflated.)

The situation sparked a multi-million-dollar investigation that resulted in discipline for the Patriots and a controversial four-game suspension for star quarterback Tom Brady, whose appeal to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was denied in part because, Goodell wrote in his decision, the attempt to gain competitive advantage through a scheme to deflate footballs could be compared to – wait for it – using performance-enhancing drugs.

After a protracted federal court fight, Brady dropped out of a lawsuit and served his four-game suspension to start this season. He since has returned to help the Patriots to a 10-2 record, in line for another first-round playoff bye and a shot to get back to the Super Bowl.

Now Jackson will serve a four-game suspension for violating the actual PED policy, meaning he’ll miss the rest of the regular season. He still could return if the Colts, in a three-way tie for the AFC South lead, get into the postseason -- where they could potentially end up facing Brady and the Patriots again.

Follow Tom Pelissero on Twitter @TomPelissero.

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