The NFL is investigating two separate potential instances of impermissible tampering between Kirk Cousins and the Atlanta Falcons and Saquon Barkley and the Philadelphia Eagles, according to ESPN.
While the Cousins news is fresh, Barkley’s tampering accusations bubbled up Wednesday night when reports of allegations made by his college coach, Penn State’s James Franklin, circulated. Franklin claimed Eagles’ general manager Howie Roseman spoke to Barkley on the phone during the NFL’s legal tampering period, which is forbidden, according to ESPN.
“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 … ” Franklin said, according to ESPN.
The Eagles have denied the claims, but clearly the league takes them serious enough to probe them. (RELATED: Grittiest NFL Coach Snags Well Deserved Extension)
Prompted by James Franklin’s comments https://t.co/yG8I7ymW6L
— Jordan Raanan (@JordanRaanan) March 14, 2024
It’s possible that Franklin’s comments were just off the cuff and he misspoke. It’s routine for the NFL to investigate any type of claim of this regard, something The Athletic’s Dianna Russini noted.
The league will be looking into potential tampering violations involving the Eagles and Saquon Barkley as well as the Atlanta Falcons and Kirk Cousins, per source. Important to note, this is standard for the league to look into such matters.
— Dianna Russini (@DMRussini) March 14, 2024
I, for one, do not care how true these rumors are. Fine the Eagles. Take their draft picks. Put their GM in prison. They must have done something illegal to pry Saquon from my precious New York Giants.
Barkley signed a three-year, $37.75 million deal with Philly on Monday.
Less information is available on Cousins’ tampering probe, but again, it could just be procedural.
Cousins, whose wife is originally from Atlanta, signed a massive four-year, $180 million deal with the Atlanta Falcons on Monday.