The Atlanta Falcons are currently under investigation for tampering as a result of Kirk Cousins’ introductory press conference with the organization. Owner Arthur Blank and head coach Raheem Morris are adamant that illegal conduct did not occur.
It should be very easy for the NFL to figure it out so there is no reason that this should drag on.
Cousins, who signed with Atlanta after six years in Minnesota, indicated that he spoke with the team’s head athletic trainer prior to 4:00 p.m. on March 13— the start of the new league year. Teams can speak with agents during the legal negotiating window and players who do not have an agent. Not players who have an agent.
When you get here and you look around and you think, boy, there’s great people here. And it’s not just the football team. I mean, I’m looking at the support staff, meeting, calling yesterday, calling our head athletic trainer and talking to our head of PT, I’m thinking we’ve got good people here. And that’s exciting to be a part of.
— Kirk Cousins on March 14
Cousins has an agent. Thus, if he spoke with a trainer prior to the start of the new league year, that is tampering. The NFL began to look into the matter on March 14.
Blank “does not believe” that the Falcons tampered with their new quarterback.
The tampering deal, we obviously don’t believe we tampered, and we shared all the information with the league. And they’ll review the process and the facts and they are in the middle of doing that, and whatever the result is, we’ll deal with it.
— Arthur Blank
Morris echoed similar sentiments.
I’m really not allowed to really discuss right now while it’s under review, but I’ve got a lot of confidence in our people that we did the right thing. It is what it is, and some of those things happen when you get excited, when you’re talking about those things. We’ll talk about those things at the appropriate time. It’s just right now it’s probably not that time.
— Raheem Morris
It has been 12 days since the league opened its probe. What is taking so long?!
Morris and Blank might not think that tampering took place. That’s fine. However, this should not be difficult to prove one way or another.
There are cameras in the team facility. If Cousins was there and met with someone in the organization, he would be on video. The video would prove tampering.
Every phone call is tracked. If Cousins spoke with someone in the organization by phone, it would be listed in the records. Tangible documentation of a phone call would prove tampering.
Unless Cousins used a burner phone or met with a staffer in an undisclosed parking lot halfway between Minnesota and Georgia at 2:00 a.m., this should not be hard to figure out. Perhaps the NFL is choosing to table this investigation for the time being while tending to other matters, but it certainly seems like this would not take long to solve.