NFL Exec Would 'Sign Up' for Falcons' Cousins Tampering Penalty to Land a Top QB

While the Atlanta Falcons were punished for tampering with quarterback Kirk Cousins, among other free agents, it apparently wasn't punitive enough to deter all teams from doing the same in the future when quarterbacks are at stake.

Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk spoke to a high-level executive from a different team Thursday who said, "If I can land the top quarterback in free agency for a fifth-round pick and $250,000, I'll sign up for that any day."

The comments come after the NFL docked Atlanta a 2025 fifth-round pick and fined the team $250,000 for violating the league's anti-tampering policy during the process of signing Cousins, wide receiver Darnell Mooney and tight end Charlie Woerner.

General manager Terry Fontenot was also fined $50,000.

It should be noted that Atlanta was not punished more harshly because the NFL determined the violations were administrative and not bigger problems such as contacting players or representatives before the negotiating window opened.

By comparison, the Miami Dolphins were stripped of first- and third-round draft picks in 2022 when the league determined they violated tampering rules in regards to quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Sean Payton.

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross was also fined $1.5 million.

In the grand scheme of the NFL, losing a fifth-round pick and paying a $250,000 fine is not much in exchange for a difference-maker at quarterback. That is especially the case when it comes to the Falcons, who were 7-10 last season and just missed out on the playoffs in a poor NFC South despite lackluster quarterback play from Desmond Ridder and Taylor Heinicke.

While Cousins is coming off an Achilles injury, he is also a four-time Pro Bowler with seven seasons of more than 4,000 passing yards on his resume.

If he can play at a Pro Bowl level in Atlanta, the playoffs will be the bare-minimum expectation. And the tampering penalties will likely be long forgotten.