The New England Patriots may find themselves in trouble with the NFL if reports are true that they may have tried to protect head coach Mike Vrabel's pics with former NFL reporter Dianna Russini from being published by the New York Post.

According to Intouch, the Patriots tried to stop the Post from exposing the head coach.

“The Post gave Vrabel a longer time to respond than what is considered industry norms, and [owner Robert] Kraft took advantage of that extended timeframe to put pressure on the reporter and the newspaper,” the story explains. “A notorious crisis strategist made the call but was unsuccessful in neutering the story.

Jemele Hill also believes the Patriots should face consequences for tampering.

By now, everyone knows the Philadelphia Eagles plan to trade wide receiver AJ Brown, but it may not happen until after the draft.

Before she resigned, Russini seemed to know before anyone else that this deal was about to take place.

“Interesting that the league chose not to investigate Vrabel for tampering, at the very least. The alleged infidelity is not a league matter, but Dianna Russini had basically been reporting that A.J. Brown to the Patriots was inevitable. You don’t need to be Olivia Benson to figure this out, but this is why I noted that it’s unfair that Vrabel has faced practically no questions about his conduct as a football coach.”

Interesting that the league chose not to investigate Vrabel for tampering, at the very least. The alleged infidelity is not a league matter, but Dianna Russini had basically been reporting A.J Brown to the Patriots was inevitable. You don’t need to be Olivia Benson to figure this… https://t.co/RzWvThFRzV

Does this mean the league will investigate? Unlikely unless someone else in the league makes a stink about it. So, never say never.

This article originally appeared on Touchdown Wire: Should the NFL investigate the Patriots for protecting Mike Vrabel?