FLOWERY BRANCH -- The NFL’s review into tampering charges against the Falcons in the signing of quarterback Kirk Cousins is ongoing, and a possible penalty won’t come before this week’s draft.
The Eagles face a similar investigation in the signing of running back Saquon Barkley.
According to an NFL spokesperson, the matters will “not conclude this week.”
That means that any possible penalty won’t affect the coming draft, which is set for Thursday through Saturday in Detroit. Last year’s tampering case between the Eagles and Cardinals was settled before the start of the draft.
“The league has been very communicative with us throughout the whole process,” Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot said Tuesday. “Really appreciate them. We have obviously cooperated and provided all of the information. (There’s no real) update from our end. We’ll just continue to cooperate.”
The Falcons could be facing a fine and lost of future draft picks.
“Control what you can control,” Fontenot said. “We’ll get ready for this draft. So, we are excited moving forward.”
In 2023, the Eagles accused the Cardinals of tampering with defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon. The Cardinals eventually hired him as their head coach. The two teams agreed to a settlement that called for the Eagles to trade the No. 94 pick in the 2023 draft and a 2024 fifth-round pick for the 66th pick in 2023 before the start of the draft.
In his first comments to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since the signing of Cousins, Falcons owner Arthur Blank denied that the team tampered in violation of league rules.
“The tampering deal, we obviously don’t believe we tampered,” Blank said recently at the league meetings in Orlando, Florida. “We shared all of the information with the league. They’ll review the process and the facts. They are in the middle of doing that. Whatever the result is, we’ll deal with it.”
The Falcons signed Cousins to a four-year contract worth up to $180 million March 13. The NFL is reviewing the signing for possible tampering violations. In his introductory press conference, Cousins indicated that he had meet with the Falcons’ training staff and public relations staff the previous day, both of which would have been violations of tampering as such discussions came before he signed. He also discussed talking with team executive Ryan Pace and then admitted to helping to recruit wide receiver Darnell Mooney from the Bears. The Vikings did not file a complaint against the Falcons.
The Falcons were eager to sign the veteran quarterback after not making the playoffs for the sixth consecutive year. He is slated to replace Desmond Ridder.
Tampering violations are considered serious by the league. For tampering with free-agent wide receiver Jeremy Maclin, the Chiefs were stripped of their third-round pick in 2016, their sixth-round pick in 2017 and fined $250,000. Chiefs coach Andy Reid was fined $50,000 and then-general manager John Dorsey was fined $25,000.
The Chiefs were cited for “improper contact” before the start of free agency.
Fontenot did not want say if the team felt that acting properly with the case being under review.
“Not something that we can talk about as long as it’s under review,” Fontenot said. “We’ve been cooperative with the league, and the way they’ve communicated with us, we appreciate the process that they’ve gone through. So ... it’s not something that we can talk about right now.”
