Kirk Cousins

Kirk Cousins ‘Stunned’ By Falcons’ Decision To Draft Michael Penix Jr.

April 26th, 2024 at 10:40pm CST by Sam Robinson

Upon signing Kirk Cousins, the Falcons informed him they were planning to take a quarterback in the later rounds. Just before the team decided to shift course, the high-priced free agency pickup received a rather important phone call.

The Falcons did inform their $45MM-per-year quarterback they were planning to use the No. 8 overall pick on Michael Penix Jr. They did so upon going on the clock. But the longtime Vikings starter is believed to have been stunned by his new team’s decision, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reports.

As should be expected, Cousins is concerned this pick does not help the Falcons for the 2024 season, according to Russini (subscription required). Viewed at points as a potential late-first-round prospect, Penix did become connected to the Falcons early this week. But the team’s decision to follow up the Cousins contract — which includes a $100MM practical guarantee, one that ties the 35-year-old passer to Atlanta through 2026 — by selecting the recent national championship game starter was easily the most surprising first-round move.

“He got called on the clock, obviously because of the sensitive time with the issues of what you got going on,” Falcons HC Raheem Morris said of the team’s decision to notify Cousins. “It’s never a right time to talk to a quarterback about those things. And reactions are always going to be private when it comes to those things, unless Kirk decides to tell you some of those things that are whatever they may be. But he’s a competitor, just like us all. And you can always expect those things to go just like you kind of think.”

It is not unusual for teams to follow up free agency acquisitions with first-round QB picks, but those moves generally come after a team added a bridge-type passer on the market. Cousins is not that, and an unusual setup is now in place in which Penix learns on the job — potentially for multiple seasons. The Packers are the only team in the fifth-year option era to park a first-round passer for multiple years, but Jordan Love arrived as a No. 26 overall pick. With Penix going eighth, this marks new territory for QB commitment.

Atlanta’s No. 8 draft slot played a key role in the team’s logic here, as Morris said the team views it as unlikely — based largely on Cousins’ status — it will be picking in the top 10 again anytime soon. This is a common refrain among teams, though the Falcons have held a top-10 pick in each of Terry Fontenot‘s four offseasons as GM. Their odds to win the NFC South did improve after Cousins’ arrival, but Penix will probably not move the needle for 2024.

“Kirk Cousins our quarterback. We are very excited about Kirk and this team,” Fontenot said, via The Athletic’s Josh Kendall. “We’re very excited about that quarterback room. Kirk is our quarterback. Adding Michael Penix is thinking about the future.”

The Falcons were confident in last season’s Division I-FBS passing leader throughout the pre-draft process, per ESPN.com’s Pete Thamel, who adds the team sent an eight-man contingent — which included Morris, GM Terry Fontenot and OC Zac Robinson — to Seattle to meet with the standout southpaw.

Penix did not take a “30” visit to Atlanta, Russini adds, though the sides had scheduled a meeting in March. While it is less common for a team to make this sort of investment without going through with a visit, that move could have tripped alarms around the league. That said, Penix was highly unlikely to be chosen before the Falcons went on the clock at 8 regardless of his visit schedule.

Coaches were viewed as generally higher than scouts on Penix, with some mechanical issues impacting thet deep-ball maven’s stock. He should have plenty of time to iron those out. Sean Payton said Thursday night he believed the Raiders were targeting Penix, and they had been linked to the Washington prospect. But their plans may well have changed when the Falcons doubled down at the game’s premier position.

Expected to devote the No. 8 choice to defense, the Falcons will be tasked with addressing that side of the ball beginning tonight. Not using No. 8 overall to help a Cousins-led team does create an uphill battle on the roster-building front. Their timeline with Cousins will be fascinating now, as the team will not stand to benefit much from Penix’s rookie contract thanks to the Cousins commitment. The Falcons gave Cousins a no-trade clause, according to OverTheCap’s Jason Fitzgerald, who adds it would cost $35MM for Atlanta to cut ties with the veteran in 2026.

The Packers did not benefit much from Love’s rookie deal, stashing him behind Aaron Rodgers — which created a few headlines during the four-time MVP’s final Green Bay years — for three seasons. That blueprint also involved the Pack trading up for a 21-year-old QB; Penix will turn 24 in May. Green Bay is the only team to execute an extended-runway plan at QB since the 2011 CBA reshaped roster building; it will be interesting to see how the Falcons’ Cousins-Penix effort goes.

Latest On Michael Penix Jr.’s Draft Stock

April 23rd, 2024 at 8:54pm CST by Ben Levine

Caleb Williams, Jayden Daniels, and Drake Maye have sat relatively firmly atop mock drafts throughout the pre-draft process, and it sounds like J.J. McCarthy is destined to join that trio in the first round. After those top-four quarterbacks, focus shifts to Michael Penix Jr., and it remains to be seen how early the Washington product will hear his name called.

While teams like the Patriots (No. 3) and Giants (No. 6) have recently been connected to Penix, it’s more likely those teams would only consider the quarterback in trade-back scenarios. As a result, Albert Breer of SI.com believes the earliest Penix could be selected is by the Falcons at No. 8.

This would be an unexpected move by Atlanta, considering the team’s sizable offseason commitment to Kirk Cousins. However, since Penix has generally been viewed as less NFL-ready than his positional counterparts, the Falcons could secure their QB of the future while also competing now. As Breer notes, the duo of GM Terry Fontenot and head coach Raheem Morris could be enticed by a “Jordan Love-like plan” at quarterback, and they’ll likely be in prime position to select the Washington signal caller with their first-round pick.

While the Raiders could be ready to pounce on Penix at No. 13, there’s been some belief in league circles that the QB could land with the Seahawks at No. 16. The organization has plenty of connections to the incoming rookie. Besides being a local prospect, Penix is also familiar with new Seahawks offensive coordinator Ryan Grubb and offensive line coach Scott Huff, who were both poached from the Huskies staff. We heard similar rumblings surrounding the Seahawks/Penix connection earlier this month.

However, ESPN’s Adam Schefter cautions that the Seahawks may not be a logical landing spot for the quarterback. For starters, GM John Schneider has only drafted a pair of quarterbacks in his 15 years at the helm (Russell Wilson and Alex McGough). Further, the Seahawks are high on offseason acquisition Sam Howell as a future replacement for Geno Smith. Plus, Howell is the same age as Penix and already has 18 games of NFL experience.

If Penix isn’t selected in the top half of the first round, it’s uncertain how far he could fall. Yahoo’s Charles Robinson notes that there are several teams that have a “second-round grade on him or lower.” Penix has continued to be a divisive prospect, with one NFL offensive coach previously declaring him as the No. 2 QB in the draft (behind Williams).

Part of the skepticism is naturally surrounding the player’s injury history, as Penix suffered four season-ending injuries during his time in college. The QB was also knocked for his “scattershot accuracy underneath,” although Penix seemed to alleviate some of those concerns with a strong pro day showing. The varying opinions of the signal caller will make him one of the more intriguing prospects to watch through the first two days of the draft.

QB Options Steelers Considered Before Landing Wilson, Fields

April 6th, 2024 at 8:56pm CST by Ely Allen

The Steelers’ quarterbacks room underwent a complete overhaul last month, with every quarterback previously on the roster finding their way out of Pittsburgh while every passer currently on the roster was not a Steeler last season. While it looks like Pittsburgh certainly found its way to the best of a bad situation, things could’ve played out much differently, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN.

The bad situation referred to above was the quarterback situation immediately following last season. Former first-round quarterbacks Mitchell Trubisky and Kenny Pickett were failing to live up to their draft stock, and their best hope was to ride with the hot-handed Mason Rudolph, an option they had never shown much trust in in the past and one who was bound for free agency.

The overhaul began with the release of Trubisky, who returned to Buffalo to serve as Josh Allen‘s backup. Then, things really hit the fan when Pittsburgh landed the signature of Super Bowl-winning quarterback Russell Wilson, who would presumably slide in as the new starter, despite assurances that he would compete with Pickett for the job. Rudolph, seeing his chances at a starting job disappear, opted not to return signing with the Titans. And, after seeing the writing on the wall, Pickett asked for a trade, which the Steelers honored by sending him to Philadelphia, where he would back up Jalen Hurts. Finally, the Steelers filled out the rest of their room by trading for the former polarizing Bears quarterback Justin Fields and signing veteran backup quarterback Kyle Allen.

They flipped a room that appeared to have a pretty low floor with an unclear ceiling and turned it into a room full of proven experience and future potential without committing too many resources to acquire it. Before they landed on Wilson as their best option moving forward, though, the team looked at a few other options.

After hiring former Falcons head coach Arthur Smith as their new offensive coordinator, Pittsburgh felt comfortable moving forward with Pickett leading a run-heavy, play-action offense. Smith had run a successful version of that style of offense in Tennessee with Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry. The team even explored reuniting Tannehill and Smith with the veteran quarterback hitting free agency this offseason. They also kicked the tires on new Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins before deciding that he was out of their price range.

They also nearly pulled the trigger on a second backup option before trading for Fields. The Steelers reportedly had a high chance of signing new Browns backup quarterback Tyler Huntley, per Mary Kay Cabot of cleveland.com. A division-rival before and after his new contract, the Steelers had seen Huntley in four of his nine career starts with the Ravens and clearly liked what they saw. With Fields in the fold now, Huntley was the odd man out but ended up staying in the AFC North anyway.

Instead of rolling with Tannehill or Cousins and Huntley, the Steelers are well set up to field an offense with Wilson and Fields in 2024. They certainly did their homework on several options but ended up with what may have been the best-case scenario after a rough 2023 season that saw them shuffle through Pickett, Trubisky, and Rudolph.

Latest On Steelers’ QB Situation

March 28th, 2024 at 8:17pm CST by Ben Levine

The Steelers entered the offseason with some expectation of shaking up their quarterbacks room. However, Steelers general manager Omar Khan admitted this week that he never would have imagined the team adding both Russell Wilson and Justin Fields.

“I’m excited about both of those players,” Khan said earlier this week (via Dale Lolley of the team’s website). “They’re both really good quarterbacks. If you would have told me a month ago in Indy that we’d be here and Russell Wilson and Justin Fields would be our quarterbacks, I’d say, I’d be a little bit surprised.”

When the season ended with yet another one-and-done playoff appearance, Khan gave Kenny Pickett a vote of confidence. At the same time, the GM acknowledged that the Steelers would likely add some competition at the position. That mentality didn’t last too long, as both Russell (via free agency) and Fields (via trade) were acquired thanks to massive discounts. The Steelers were also able to find a trade partner for Pickett in the Eagles, allowing them to completely reset their QB depth chart. Despite the sudden pivot, Khan made it clear that it had nothing to do with Pickett’s ability.

“Nothing has changed. I still have a lot of faith in Kenny Pickett,” Khan said. “Kenny’s a good football player, a good quarterback. I think he’s got a big future in the NFL. Things just kind of evolved. I couldn’t really have foreseen that things would go the way they did.”

Now, the Steelers will shift their focus to their two new signal callers. Mike Tomlin made it clear this week that Wilson is in “pole position” to be Pittsburgh’s starting quarterback, although Fields will eventually have the “opportunity to compete” when the time comes. Tomlin noted the advantage of having clarity at the position, which is why he’s been straightforward when discussing his team’s QB plan.

“We’ve been very transparent about the pecking order, at least to start,” Tomlin said earlier this week (via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor). “I just think that provides clarity for all parties involved. Russell is a veteran, man. He’s got a proven process of readiness. He’s been in this league a long time. He’s capable of rallying troops, receivers, tight ends, running backs, et cetera. He’s just got a lot of experience in terms of what it takes to be the guy over the course of a 12-month calendar and I just think that that’s something that a younger guy like Justin could learn from.”

While the Steelers were clearly active in the QB market, the team didn’t pursue the biggest available name. Tomlin told reporters (including Pryor) that the Steelers didn’t make a run at Kirk Cousins, who ended up getting $180MM from the Falcons.

Falcons Were Interested In Top Defensive FAs; More On Kirk Cousins’ Decision

March 24th, 2024 at 10:34pm CST by Rory Parks

On the day before the 2024 league year opened, the Falcons agreed to a four-year, $180MM deal with former Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, a deal that will pay the 35-year-old passer (36 in August) $50MM in guaranteed money. Even if Atlanta had not signed Cousins, the club was still prepared to make a major free agent splash.

Albert Breer of SI.com, in a piece that is well-worth a read for fans of the Falcons and Vikings in particular, explores in considerable detail how Cousins came to sign with Atlanta, beginning with the February 2022 meeting between the quarterback, his agent, and Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell, whom the Vikes had just hired. While most of Breer’s writing focuses on the discussions, both football and contractual, between Cousins’ camp and Vikings brass and then between Cousins’ camp and Falcons brass, he does note that Atlanta had interest in top defensive free agents Danielle Hunter — another long-time member of the Vikings — and Christian Wilkins.

Per Breer, if the Falcons had not been successful in their pursuit of Cousins or another high-priced FA signal-caller like Baker Mayfield, they would have spent their money on defense, with Hunter and Wilkins named as potential targets. Mayfield had agreed to a new contract with the Bucs while Cousins was still in limbo, so Atlanta GM Terry Fontenot spoke with the agents for Hunter and Wilkins in case he would have to address his QB position via a trade for a player like Justin Fields or via the draft. He was told that both players would fetch at least $25MM per year, which turned out to be pretty accurate. Fontenot also explored the possibility of trading up into the top-three of the draft to land a blue-chip collegiate quarterback, though the teams holding those selections (the Bears, Commanders, and Patriots) were not interested in dealing, at least not that early in the process.

Ultimately, Cousins chose to sign with the Falcons, and Atlanta subsequently bolstered his pass-catching contingent by authorizing a notable contract for wide receiver Darnell Mooney and sending displaced quarterback Desmond Ridder to the Cardinals in exchange for slot man Rondale Moore. Without a high-end QB contract on their books, it was the Vikings who pivoted to the defensive side of the ball, adding Jonathan Greenard, Andrew Van Ginkel, and Blake Cashman in quick succession while bidding farewell to Hunter.

Shortly after Cousins decided to make the move to Atlanta, he said the team simply seemed more prepared than Minnesota to commit to him on a long-term basis. Indeed, Breer reports that while the Vikings did improve their offer to Cousins as negotiations went on by putting more guaranteed money on the table, it was the structure of those guarantees that swung the pendulum in the Falcons’ favor. The Vikings’ proposals always gave them the ability to part ways with Cousins in 2025 without many financial ramifications, and Cousins ultimately felt he was being viewed as a bridge to a passer that the team would select in next month’s draft.

The Falcons’ deal, on the other hand, guarantees all of Cousins’ 2025 base salary of $27.5MM, effectively tethering player and team to each other for the next two seasons. Atlanta can realistically get out of the deal in 2026, at which point Cousins’ cap number skyrockets to $57.5MM. Still, he will at least have an NFL home beyond the upcoming campaign, which was clearly a top priority for him.

Having devoted so many resources to their offense, Fontenot & Co. will have to turn their attention to the draft to address a defense that finished 24th in DVOA and 21st in sacks in 2023. To that end, the team has scheduled a predraft visit with Alabama edge defender Dallas Turner, as Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network reports. The Vikings and Bears will also visit with Turner, who could be the first defensive player off the board.

NFC South Notes: Cousins, Falcons, Ramczyk, Saints, Davis, Evans, Panthers

March 20th, 2024 at 3:30pm CST by Sam Robinson

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).

Broncos “Leaning Toward” Jarrett Stidham As QB1

March 17th, 2024 at 11:14pm CST by Rory Parks

Before the 2024 league year began, we heard that Jarrett Stidham had a good chance to open the season as the Broncos’ starting quarterback. Now, as the dust settles on the first wave of free agency, it appears that Stidham’s hold on the QB1 job has only gotten stronger.

In evaluating the QB signings and trades that have taken place around the league, Mike Klis of 9News.com says that the Broncos “seem to be leaning toward” having Stidham serve as the starter — at least at the beginning of the 2024 campaign — and using their No. 12 overall selection on a collegiate passer. After all, while Denver considered Sam Darnold, who ultimately signed with the Vikings, Sean Payton & Co. reportedly did not make a contract offer (per Klis, Darnold strongly preferred Minnesota anyway).

Likewise, Klis reports that the Broncos did their due diligence on former Patriots signal-caller Mac Jones, but they did not make a trade offer. New England ultimately dealt Jones to the Jaguars for a sixth-round pick. Klis also says that Denver was never in on high-priced free agent options like Kirk Cousins and Baker Mayfield, and he adds that the club has not shown any interest in Ryan Tannehill. While there are still free agents (Tannehill) and trade candidates (Trey Lance, Zach Wilson) that the Broncos could pursue, none of them would necessarily unseat Stidham.

Notwithstanding Klis’ expectation that the Broncos’ will use their top draft choice on a quarterback, Troy Renck of the Denver Post believes the team could trade back, unless a player like Michigan’s J.J. McCarthy should fall into that range, or unless Payton is particularly high on Oregon’s Bo Nix. Renck’s sources tell him that four quarterbacks will be selected within the top six picks of the draft, and it certainly seems to be a safe bet that the first three selections will be used on passers. The Bears (No. 1 overall) and Commanders (No. 2 overall) appear poised to draft QBs, and even if the Patriots (No. 3 overall) trade back, the team that trades with them may well use that pick on a quarterback. The price to leap up the draft board to select the third- or fourth-best QB prospect in the draft would be prohibitive for a team like the Broncos that is clearly in rebuild mode (to say nothing of the fact that the Vikings, who have the No. 11 overall pick, are better-positioned to make such a move).

Obviously, if the Broncos were to trade down as Renck suggests, that would solidify Stidham as the short-term starter while helping the team pick up additional capital to address other holes on a roster that has plenty of them. One way or another, as Albert Breer of SI.com wrote on the day free agency began, Denver is not going to force anything at the QB position, and Payton’s confidence in Stidham affords them the ability to be patient, even if “patience” is not one of Payton’s favorite words.

Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, Kevin O’Connell Address Kirk Cousins Negotiations; Latest On Vikings’ Offer

March 17th, 2024 at 11:08pm CST by Adam La Rose

Both Vikings general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell expressed interest in a Kirk Cousins re-signing leading into free agency. The four-time Pro Bowler joined the Falcons on a four-year, $180MM deal, however, leaving Minnesota to add Sam Darnold and (potentially) a rookie signal-caller in next month’s draft.

Efforts were made on Minnesota’s part to work out a new Cousins deal once talks resumed during the offseason. Guaranteed money, to little surprise, became a sticking point during negotiations with the 35-year-old who is rehabbing an Achilles tear. On that note, Dianna Russini and Alec Lewis of The Athletic report the Vikings offered Cousins a multi-year deal including guaranteed compensation in Year 2. The team’s best submission, however, fell short of Atlanta’s.

Prior to free agency opening, questions were raised about the organizational consensus regarding another investment in Cousins. When speaking publicly on the matter, O’Connell said (via ESPN’s Kevin Seifert) there was “complete alignment” between the coaching staff and front office with respect to the efforts aimed at retaining him. Cousins’ value ultimately went beyond what the Vikings were prepared to pay out on a long-term agreement, something confirmed at the same press availability.

“This sport isn’t such where you can just say on a binary basis: ‘I want that player,'” Adofo-Mensah said (via Lewis). “I think we’ve been very clear since we’ve gotten here that we like Kirk Cousins. We’ve been very clear that we think we could win a Super Bowl with Kirk Cousins. But we have a sport that gives you a certain number of draft picks, a salary cap – it’s a resource-constrained thing.

“When I called Kirk, we joked about the uncomfortable middle [regarding contract talks.] That’s what deals should be. And we weren’t able to find that… But that doesn’t mean we didn’t compete for him. Sometimes, it just gets to that place where the uncomfortable middle isn’t somewhere where you want to go, or where a different team can go because of their timeline of their team, they’re in a different situation.”

Cousins admitted he viewed his final few Vikings season as a “year-to-year” arrangement compared to his Falcons deal setting him up for (in all likelihood) the remainder of his career. His arrival will put Atlanta in a solid QB situation compared to the team’s 2023 signal-callers, provided Cousins can return to his pre-injury form. Minnesota, meanwhile, faces questions about the potential addition of a new quarterback in April’s draft.

The Vikings added an extra first-round pick by swinging a deal with the Texans on Friday. That added draft capital could be used to move up the board on Day 1, although Adofo-Mensah noted he is not exclusively committed to selecting a quarterback at that point. For now, Darnold is in place as the team’s starter after the Falcons outbid them for Cousins. The effectiveness of Minnesota’s and Atlanta’s respective decisions will be a key storyline to follow in 2024.

NFL Investigating Eagles, Falcons For Potential Tampering

March 14th, 2024 at 11:31am CST by Sam Robinson

Although the NFL calls its unofficial free agency the legal tampering period, the league is looking into whether two teams went too far during this year’s window. The Eagles and Falcons are under investigation, ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano tweets.

The league is looking into potential violations from these teams during their respective Saquon Barkley and Kirk Cousins negotiations. Penn State coach James Franklin, who coached Barkley in college, said GM Howie Roseman spoke directly with the running back prior to the new league year. Teams are not permitted to speak directly with players during the tampering period unless they are self-represented; the Eagles have denied any violation occurred, ESPN.com’s Tim McManus notes.

Cousins said Wednesday night he spoke with the Falcons’ trainer during the tampering window, which is not permitted under league rules. While tampering ahead of the days that comprise the legal tampering period happens annually, as some deals come to pass rather quickly once the signing window opens. But the league is investigating these two high-profile team changes. Fines or potential loss of draft picks can come out of tampering violations.

“For him now to come back and be able to play within the state, in Philadelphia, he said that was one of the first things that Howie said to him on the phone as part of his sales pitch to him was not only the Philadelphia Eagles and that but obviously the connection with Penn State and the fan base as well,” Franklin said (via McManus) of Barkley’s Eagles talks.

As of Thursday morning, the Giants had not contacted the league about tampering, per McManus. By most accounts, the Giants were prepared to move on from the two-time Pro Bowler. While New York did add a veteran replacement in Devin Singletary, the ex-Brian Daboll Bills charge comes cheaper than Barkley, who signed a three-year, $37.75MM deal with $26MM guaranteed at signing. The Vikings did make a more concerted effort to retain Cousins, but the Falcons came in with a big offer — four years, $180MM with a $100MM practical guarantee — to lure him out of Minneapolis.

Rehabbing a torn Achilles sustained in late October, Cousins wants to be ready for the Falcons’ summer workouts. Falcons buzz began building coming out of the Combine, which often serves as a preview of the market. After battling uphill against Cousins during negotiations for years, the Vikings held tight against the kind of guarantee the Falcons are authorizing. As he prepares to move to his wife’s hometown, the 35-year-old passer will be working with the Falcons’ medical staff soon. The NFL will look into whether the Falcons’ staff violated tampering policies during this high-profile recruitment.

Latest On Falcons QB Kirk Cousins

March 13th, 2024 at 10:21pm CST by Ely Allen

There’s a new sheriff in Atlanta and he brings with him a surprising amount of bling. Kirk Cousins officially signed today to join the Falcons, the third NFL franchise of his 12-year career. He’s played six seasons in Washington and six seasons in Minnesota, and if things go well, it sounds like Cousins could play the last six years of his career in Atlanta.

The decision to leave the Vikings was certainly not a sudden one. Cousins joined the team after being franchise-tagged twice in Washington. He signed a fully guaranteed three-year, $84MM salary to head to Minnesota. After narrowly missing the playoffs in his first season as a Viking and then making it to the Divisional Round of the playoffs in his second, the Vikings rewarded his success. While technically a multi-year extension, Minnesota only signed him to two more fully guaranteed years. Going into the final year of that deal, the Vikings gave him one more fully guaranteed season.

Shortly after signing the deal that would keep him in town through this past season, Cousins led the Vikings to a 13-4 record, though the season ended in a first-round knockout. Pleased with the success in 2022, the Vikings spent much of the offseason, and eventually the regular season, working towards another extension for Cousins. The deal never ended up getting done.

All of these short-term solutions sent a message to Cousins who told ESPN’s Michael Rothstein that it felt like his time in Minnesota “was trending year-to-year” over his last few seasons with the team. Whether or not it came up in negotiations, it doesn’t seem like a true long-term solution was ever in play. On the flip side, Cousins said that “when he talked to Atlanta, it seemed like, if things went well, he could retire with the Falcons when he was done.” What seems to have won Atlanta his services was the fact that they seemed more willing to commit to him long-term, something most recently displayed when Matt Ryan played with the team until he was 36 years old.

Now, Cousins is currently working his way back from a torn Achilles that cost Cousins his last 10 weeks in Minnesota. He’s certainly not ready to suit up in red and black just yet. According to James Palmer of NFL Network, his current goal is “to be full speed before the Falcons break for the summer after spring workouts.”

He believes that to be a feasible goal. For right now, he says he’s able to take drops and make throws with no problems, something we saw from Aaron Rodgers‘ ambitious attempt to return from the same injury in a length of time shorter than the NFL regular season. He adds that, were he to attempt to break from the pocket, that’s when it would become noticeable that he’s still recovering from the Achilles injury.

Falcons fans will just have to be patient. If they are, they will eventually get to see Cousins leading their team. If they’re patient and things go well, they could get to see him leading their team for the remainder of his career.

Load More Posts