After announcing the Philadelphia Eagles will not be penalized in their tampering investigation, the NFL announced the Atlanta Falcons will be docked a 2025 fifth-round pick for violating the league’s anti-tampering policy with Kirk Cousins, Darnell Mooney and Charlie Woerner. The team will also be fined $250,000 and general manager Terry Fontenot is being fined $50,000, per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero.
Pelissero goes on to report the violations were considered “logistical/administrative, such as making travel arrangements after players agreed to terms, and did not involve contact prior to the negotiating window.”
Due to the timing of the infractions, the Falcons dodged a much heavier penalty.
The NFL went on to explain that “while the policy permits clubs to engage with and negotiate all aspects of an NFL player contract with the certified agent of any prospective unrestricted free agent during the two-day negotiating period, any direct contact between the player and an employee or representative of the club is prohibited. This includes discussion of travel arrangements or other logistical matters, which the club acknowledges took place with regard to these three players.”
