Kirk Cousins on NFL's tampering investigation: 'There's not a whole lot there'
The NFL has been examining the Atlanta Falcons signing of then free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins at the beginning of the 2024 free agency period for potential tampering. But the quarterback himself said there’s not much for the league to find out.
Speaking with media in Atlanta this week, Cousins downplayed any potential for the league to come back with a substantiated charge of tampering. Cousin’s signed a four-year deal worth up to $180 million with $100 million guaranteed hours after free agency official opened.
“The league’s still kind of going through that so I’ll let them do it. But there’s not a whole lot there,” Cousins said.
There is a two-day tampering period prior to the official opening of free agency. And while Cousins and Atlanta were linked as a potential pairing in the media well before tampering was allowed, the league is trying to see if there might’ve been some backchannel communications going on when the kibosh was on.
If the Falcons are found to have tampered in signing Cousins, the penalty could be as steep as forfeiting a future draft pick, potentially even a first rounder.
There would be some irony, perhaps, in that happening, as the Falcons infamously selected quarterback Michael Penix Jr. with the No. 8 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft, less than two months removed from signing Cousins, and turning down chances to add a piece that could aid the veteran quarterback. Given the league could still turn something up, it’s possible Cousins goes his first two years in Atlanta without the franchise adding major pieces around him.
But according to the quarterback himself, there’s not much to worry about.
Cousins addressed the Penix selection
Many were curious how Cousins reacted to the Falcons’ head-scratching decision on draft night, receiving a phone call moments before the pick was made that they would be selecting Penix a little over a month after declaring him as their quarterback of the immediate future.
Cousins recently joined Will Compton and Taylor Lewan on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast and opened up about the events of draft day. A story that he knows all too well looking back on his football career.
“I think you’re reminded again that there are things you control and there’s a lot of things you don’t control,” Cousins said. “And so let’s deal in reality and recognize that fact and then be a steward and not an owner. So I just believe that I gotta steward what comes my way and control what I control, which is what a steward does.”
“But a steward doesn’t worry about that which they can’t control, an owner does, Cousins added. “An owner would be like oh my goodness. So I just got to steward this and just do kind of what I’ve always done as a player and let the chips fall where they may.”
Per usual, Cousins publicly addressed the situation like a consummate pro. Entering the 13th year of his NFL career this upcoming season with a full understanding of how the business works. Sharing with the boys what he learned from his time in Minnesota when he was informed three years ago that the Vikings may draft a quarterback in the 2021 NFL Draft during a round of golf.
“So I understood that for a while teams are always thinking about succession plans, always thinking about that,” Cousins explained. “And they didn’t end up drafting one that year, but you’re made aware that this is a possible direction they could go. My point is this isn’t like a foreign concept, there’s an awareness that this is the NFL. Anything can happen.”
Even as a high school recruit Cousins did not receive an offer from Michigan State until five other quarterbacks declined commitments to the school. Only for the Spartans to offer Nick Foles following Cousins’ signing after saying they’d only have one quarterback in their recruiting class.
“I said a month ago you told me that there were five guys, that if they committed you wouldn’t offer anybody else. Now I committed and those same rules don’t apply, you’re now offering somebody else. I said what do you think that makes me feel like?” Cousins asked.
Foles ended up transferring out of Michigan State and Cousins eventually won the starting job for the Spartans. Thrust into a quarterback competition yet again after Washington drafted him in the No. 102 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2012 NFL Draft after selecting Robert Griffin III with the second overall pick.
“This whole competing for your job, the coaches having to have a full quarterback room, have good players, trying to get as much depth as they can. It’s more like copy and paste than something new for me, because this goes so far back to kind of how it always has been,” Cousins concluded.