ORLANDO — Falcons owner Arthur Blank, in his first comments to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution since the signing of quarterback Kirk Cousins, denied that the team tampered in violation of league rules.
“The tampering deal, we obviously don’t believe we tampered,”
Blank said while leaving a meeting on Monday. “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’ case doesn’t appear to rise to the level of the more recent tampering cases where the NFL suspended Miami owner Stephen Ross and fined him $1.5 million for tampering between Tom Brady and Sean Payton following a sixth-month investigation.
“There’s great people here,” Cousins said.
“And it’s not just the football team. I mean, I’m looking at the support staff. Meeting – calling, yesterday, calling our head athletic trainer, talking to our head of P.R. I’m thinking, we got people here. And that’s exciting to be a part of.”
The league’s “legal tampering” period started at noon on March 11 and ended at 3:59 p.m. on March 13.
Under Article 9, Section 1(b) (iv) of the collective bargaining agreement, “a prospective UFA’s certified contract advisor is permitted to communicate directly with front office officials (excluding the head coach and all other members of the club’s coaching staff ) of any or all new NFL clubs regarding contract negotiations.
“As a reminder, no direct contact is permitted between a represented player and any employee or representative of a club (other than his current club) during this period.”
High crime? Misdemeanor? The Falcons’ case doesn’t appear to rise to the level of the more recent tampering cases where the NFL suspended Miami owner Stephen Ross and fined him $1.5 million for tampering between Tom Brady and Sean Payton following a sixthmonth investigation. The Dolphins case stemmed from Brian Flores’ racial-discrimination lawsuit against the league.
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.
Cousins, 35, was a priority after several free-agent quarterbacks came off the market. The Buccaneers re-signed Baker Mayfield to a three-year, $100-million deal and the Steelers agreed to a one-year deal, $1.21 million deal with nine-time Pro Bowler Russell Wilson. Also, quarterback Mac Jones was traded by the Patriots to the Jaguars.
The Falcons stated that they had a “Plan A, Plan B, Plan C and Plan D” when it came to upgrading the quarterback position. Getting Cousins was clearly Plan A.
The Falcons hold the eighth overall pick in April’s NFL draft and
would not be able to select one of the top QB prospects unless they traded up.
Cousins, who guided the Vikings to the NFC North title in 2022 with a 13-4 record, had them off to a 4-4 start before he ruptured his Achilles in October, ending his season.
Cousins, who’s set to turn 36 in August, is hoping to return by the end of the offseason program.
Cousins, who’s 6-foot-3 and 205 pounds, completed a two-year, $66 million deal last season. The Vikings could have re-signed him prior to the tampering period to keep him off the free-agent market.
Cousins, who’s made $231 million since he was drafted in the fourth round (102nd overall) in 2012 out of Michigan State, signed a three-year, $84 million deal in 2018 with the Vikings.
The knock on Cousins is that he’s been only an average quarterback.
He had a 59-59 record entering the 2022 season. He is also 1-3 in the playoffs.
“He’s a very high quality quarterback,” Blank said. “He’s performed at a high level for 12 years in the league. Feel pretty fortunate to having him as our quarterback.
I look forward to seeing the results with him.”