The Falcons are under investigation for tampering during their Kirk Cousins pursuit. Cousins said during his Falcons intro presser he spoke with the team’s trainer ahead of his official signing, which would be a violation. Cousins may well have revealed another tampering violation, indicating (via Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio) he offered to call Darnell Mooney to help close the Falcons’ pitch to the former Bears wide receiver. Mooney committed to the Falcons on Day 2 of the tampering period. With Cousins’ deal not yet official at that point, such recruitment on behalf of the team would be a violation as well.
None of this will result in the Falcons losing Cousins, but a fine and/or a draft choice being stripped would be in play if the team is found to have violated the tampering policy (albeit during a stretch referred to as the legal tampering period). Given the multiple issues here, the Falcons certainly run the risk of being punished.
Here is the latest from the NFC South:
- In a division with two of the league’s restructure mavens, the Panthers are hoping to avoid such moves under new GM Dan Morgan. The former Carolina assistant GM said (via The Athletic’s Joe Person) he will aim to avoid kicking the can down the road in the form of restructures. Teams have turned to restructures more in the 2020s, as the larger cap spikes have helped clubs manage the bigger cap hits down the road, but both the Buccaneers and Saints have needed to take some medicine at points this decade due to restructures.
- Having said that, the Panthers did reach a restructure agreement with Shaq Thompson to both create cap space and retain their longest-tenured player. This will reduce the 10th-year linebacker’s base salary to $3.1MM and clear around $3MM in cap space, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero tweets. Headed into his age-30 season, Thompson is coming off a two-game campaign halted by a fractured fibula. He is now on the Panthers’ cap sheet at $3.19MM.
- Ryan Ramczyk finished last season on IR due to a knee injury that he admitted bothered him for nearly the entire season. A cartilage defect in his knee also brought some ominous comments from the standout right tackle, but he is on track to play an eighth season with the Saints. Ramczyk underwent what Dennis Allen (via NOLA.com’s Matthew Paras) labeled a minor knee procedure; he is expected to be ready for training camp. Additionally, Ramczyk agreed to a reworked contract that guarantees him $6.5MM this season, ESPN’s Field Yates tweets. Ramcyzk’s 2021 extension previously had no guarantees left, but it called for a $27MM 2024 cap number. This reworking brought that down to $12.9MM, and NewOrleans.football’s Mike Triplett refers to it as a significant pay cut. Ramczyk is signed through 2026, but no guarantees are due beyond 2024.
- The Saints also brought James Hurst‘s cap number down from $6.5MM to $2.9MM, NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill tweets. Two void years are present in Hurst’s deal, but the veteran O-lineman, who has been needed to start over the past three seasons, is due for free agency in 2025.
- New Orleans’ latest Demario Davis contract (two years, $17.25MM) will bring $13.25MM in guarantees, ESPN.com’s Katherine Terrell tweets. The team is guaranteeing $2.5MM of Davis’ $6.5MM 2025 base salary, with Terrell adding a $1.75MM roster bonus will be due next year. That roster bonus will be key in determining if Davis plays the 2025 season in New Orleans; the new deal dropped Davis’ 2024 cap hit from $18.1MM to $6.2MM.
- Not quite as prolific as the Saints on the restructure front, the Buccaneers have been aggressive here since the Tom Brady signing. Tampa Bay has already restructured Mike Evans‘ deal, per MLFootball, with his $21.8MM roster bonus into a signing bonus. This freed up $17.4MM in cap space, which the Bucs put to good use as they re-signed Baker Mayfield and Lavonte David following the application of Antoine Winfield Jr.‘s franchise tag.
- The Panthers‘ Dane Jackson contract is for two years and worth $8.5MM in base value, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson tweets. While this NFL period has featured Carolina-to-Buffalo moves, the veteran cornerback will make the reverse trip and do so for $5.12MM guaranteed. The guarantees cover $1MM of Jackson’s 2025 base salary ($3.74MM).
Tampering during the tampering period is something I would expect from MLB. All of the players talk. They’ll dock a 6th round pick and call it a day
-Its possibly 2 separate tampering violations for the Falcons?
FUN FACTS:
“In 2016, the Kansas City Chiefs were punished by the league after being found to have engaged in improper contact with pending Eagles free agent wideout Jeremy Maclin. The contact took place prior to the start of the 2015 free agency period.”
“The Chiefs were fined $250,000 and docked two draft picks — a third-rounder and sixth-rounder. Head coach Andy Reid was fined $75,000 and then-GM John Dorsey was fined $25,000 as well.”
“In 2022, the Miami Dolphins were stripped of a first-round pick and third-round pick after owner Stephen Ross and vice chairman/limited partner Bruce Beal were found to have violated tampering rules in conversations with quarterback Tom Brady and the agent of head coach Sean Payton. Brady and Payton were both under contract with other teams when the improper contact was made by Miami.”
“Ross was fined $1.5 million and handed a six-week suspension while Beal was fined $500,000 and temporarily banned from league meetings.”
-Have to wait and see what happens in ATL.
That Saint roster just keeps getting worse and worse.
If the investigated matter does indeed reveal actual tampering, any damages levied against the Falcons in terms of forfeiture of draft choices; that does not benefit the team that was damaged by the tampering. All penalties of draft choices should consist of those choices being awardeded to the teams damaged as a result of the tampering.
Who was damaged? Was MIN damaged? No, they already had Cousins in the building, all they had to do was pay him and they decided not to. I understand how tampering could potentially hurt another teams chances but in this situation it wasn’t like someone offered him more money when the legal tampering period started, and if someone did all his agent has to say is “we didn’t like the situation being offered”.
“Tampering is a victimless crime, like punishing someone in the dark”
(Nelson Muntz)
How can they violate the ‘Tampering rule’ during the ‘Legal Tampering period’? When those in authority create vague/phantom rules they can apply them as they see fit…It actually reminds me of the Trump Tax case in NY. There was complaint levied by the banks, No victim, everyone involved was happy with transactions, etc. But the people in charge decided they simply didn’t like something smh.