Goodell: NFL 'Hard at Work' on Eagles' Barkley, Falcons' Cousins Tampering Probes

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters that the league is "hard at work at it immediately" regarding investigations into whether the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons violated the anti-tampering policy in their pursuit of running back Saquon Barkley and quarterback Kirk Cousins, respectively.

Goodell made the remarks at a press conference from the NFL Annual Meeting in Orlando on Tuesday.

Both Barkley and Cousins left their previous teams in free agency. Barkley inked a three-year, $37.75 million contract with the Eagles, while Cousins left the Minnesota Vikings for a four-year, $180 million deal with the Falcons.

In essence, there is a two-day window before the new league year in which teams are allowed to make direct contact with certified agents and negotiate contracts. However, those teams are not allowed to speak with players directly during this time (unless the player represents himself).

Regarding Philadelphia, the allegation is that general manager Howie Roseman made direct contact with Saquon Barkley during the legal tampering period, per ESPN's Tim McManus. The Eagles have denied the allegation, which came to light after Barkley's ex-Penn State coach, James Franklin, alluded to a conversation the running back and GM had.

"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 was not only the Philadelphia Eagles and that but obviously the connection with Penn State and the fan base as well," Franklin said.

Franklin later said he "misinterpreted" comments Barkley made to him on the phone and "connected dots that weren't there."

And on Atlanta, Cousins indicated that he spoke with the team's head trainer before 4 p.m. ET on March 13, when the new league year began, per ESPN's Michael Rothstein.

Falcons owner Arthur Blank said he doesn't believe the team tampered.

"The tampering deal, we obviously don't believe we tampered, and we shared all the information with the league," Blank said Monday. "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."

As Eric Mullin of NBC Sports Philadelphia noted, "a team found in violation of the league's tampering rules could be fined and/or docked draft capital."

Of note, the NFL fined the Kansas City Chiefs $350,000 and took away a third-round pick and a sixth-round choice for being in violation of the anti-tampering policy in its pursuit of wide receiver Jeremy Maclin in 2015.

In a more severe example, the Miami Dolphins had a first-round and third-round pick taken away for violating tampering rules in their (eventually failed) pursuit of quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Sean Payton. Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was also fined $1.5 million and suspended.