Two teams are under investigation by the NFL for possible tampering offenses.
The NFL is investigating whether the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons broke any tampering regulations in their respective pursuits of Kirk Cousins and Saquon Barkley, according to a report from ESPN’s Dan Graziano on Thursday.
Not long after the legal free agency window opened on Monday, Barkley and the Eagles agreed to a three-year, $37.75 million contract. For NFL free agents, the legal tampering window opened at 12 p.m. EST on Monday and ended at 4 p.m. EST on Wednesday, the start of the new league season.
Certified agents are permitted to negotiate with teams during that time. Until the start of the new league season, players are not allowed to communicate with representatives from teams who are interested in signing them directly.
Penn State coach James Franklin, who coached Barkley in college, indicated in an interview on Tuesday that Barkley had already spoken with Eagles general manager Howie Roseman, which would not have been permitted under league rules.
An Eagles spokesperson said any recruiting that was done by the team prior to Wednesday would have been through an agent, which is allowed. In Cousins’ case, the tampering probe stems from remarks the quarterback made himself during his introductory press conference with the Falcons on Wednesday.
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