NFL: Tampering probes won’t conclude this week

The NFL’s review into tampering allegations against the Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles is ongoing and will not conclude this week, the league said Tuesday.

The news means that if either team is found to have violated the league’s tampering rules and loses draft picks, those selections will not come from this week’s draft.

The NFL is looking into the Falcons’ contract agreement with quarterback Kirk Cousins and the Eagles’ agreement with running back Saquon Barkley during the three-day free agent negotiating period before the official start of the 2024 league year on March 13.

At his introductory news conference, Cousins said that he talked with the Falcons’ head athletic trainer and head of public relations during the negotiating period. Cousins wasn’t permitted to speak to anyone with the Falcons before 4 p.m. ET on March 13.

At the NFL’s league meetings last month in Orlando, Falcons owner Arthur Blank said, “we obviously don’t believe we tampered” and that the team was cooperating with the league’s investigation.

Penn State football coach James Franklin told a reporter that Eagles general manager Howie Roseman spoke to Barkley and pitched him on the connection between the Eagles and Nittany Lions fan bases.

Barkley, at his introductory news conference with the Eagles, said Franklin “misinterpreted” the situation.

Teams are permitted to talk directly with agents during the 52-hour negotiating window but can’t speak to a player unless he has no agent and represents himself.

Last year, the NFL announced a resolution to a tampering investigation of the Arizona Cardinals‘ hiring of head coach Jonathan Gannon right before the start of the 2023 draft. The Cardinals and Eagles settled the charges by trading third-round picks in last year’s draft. Arizona gave up the 66th overall pick in exchange for Philadelphia’s 94th overall pick, and the Cardinals received a fifth-round pick in the 2024 draft from the Eagles.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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