FOXBOROUGH, Mass. >> The NFL has reinstated the two New England Patriots employees cited by the league for their involvement in the use of deflated footballs in the AFC championship game.

Equipment assistant John Jastremski and officials locker room attendant Jim McNally were reinstated Wednesday after the team requested they be allowed to return. An NFL statement says: “The Patriots have satisfied the league’s requirements for reinstatement and the league has granted permission for the employees to return.”

Jastremski and McNally were at the center of the so-called “Deflategate” scandal in which an NFL-sanctioned investigation indicated Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had some knowledge of footballs being deflated in the win over the Colts for the AFC title. Brady was suspended for four games, but a federal judge overturned it on Sept. 3.

The NFL has appealed.