Orlando Scandrick posits additional Patriots cheating rumor
Free agent cornerback Orlando Scandrick recently suggested during a television appearance that the New England Patriots are cheating in another way, too.
Orlando Scandrick has been out of work since before Halloween.
A 12-year veteran in the NFL, Scandrick previously played cornerback for the Dallas Cowboys for 10 years until joining the Kansas City Chiefs in 2018 and then the Philadelphia Eagles in 2019. Originally a part of camp roster cutdowns, Scandrick was re-signed by Philly at the end of September only to be released once again less than a month later.
What has Scandrick been doing with all his free time? Apparently, he’s decided to devote at least some of it to spreading new rumors about the New England Patriots, a team he’s never played for and has rarely played against during his career.
Per NESN, Scandrick recently made a guest appearance on Fox Sports’ “The Herd with Colin Cowherd,” during which he spoke at length about the perception of cheating and rule-bending/breaking that surrounds the Patriots franchise.
He didn’t seem all that surprised about the latest scandal involving videotaping the Bengals’ sideline during their Week 14 game against the Browns… and Scandrick even aired a new cheating allegation of his own against the Patriots.
According to the veteran corner, the Patriots send staffers to the visiting team hotel every time they’re playing an opponent, with the hopes that staffers can come across game plans, playbooks, notes, or other resources that members of the opposing team might leave behind or throw away, in order for New England to gain a competitive advantage come game time.
So @OScandrick just said on @TheHerd that the rumor around the league is the Patriots have people go to the visiting team hotel and do a sweep of the hotel in case they can find any game plan, playbook, etc. stuff laying around, and bring it to the team if they do.
— Sal Capaccio 🏈 (@SalSports) December 10, 2019
Of course, there’s no way for Scandrick to prove his suspicions are grounded in fact, unless he or someone else actually catches a Patriots employee in the act.
The suggestion made by him seems to be that this is a common practice that has been occurring ever since Bill Belichick first arrived all the way back in 2000 – and yet there’s never been any formal accusation that the Patriots are cheating in this fashion over the past two decades.
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Some might even argue that this isn’t cheating at all. The lines that separate proper methods of scouting, preparation, and analysis from actual rule-violating are increasingly vague, especially given the advancements in technology and information-sharing in today’s age.