Kudos to the Philadelphia Eagles for Not Breaking the Rules

It is not very often that a team is in the news for doing the right thing.  And for this reason, I think this article is a necessity.

The 2008 NFL year ended at 12:00 midnight Thursday night.  The new year began at 12:01 am Friday morning.

No teams are permitted to speak with representatives for anyone that is not currently under contract with their team.  To do so would constitute tampering.

There is a lot of talk about how most, if not all, teams do it.  Now we know one that doesn't:

The Philadelphia Eagles.

Jason Brown, formerly of the Baltimore Ravens was one of the men that became unrestricted at 12:01 am Friday.  Brown, 25, was on the Eagles' radar to help improve a line that is getting up there in age.

Browns agent, Harold Lewis, had this comment on Phily.com Web site.

"The Eagles showed some really strong interest in Jason, but we had no inkling until midnight passed," Lewis said. "Who knows? Maybe if they'd have called first, they'd have had the first chance to talk. Jason is not the kind of guy who wants to take a tour."

Had they called first, it would be a direct violation of league rules.  Obviously, the Rams had no interest in following these rules.

Instead, the Eagles signed Stacy Andrews, former Cincinnati Bengal, and older brother of Guard Shawn Andrews.

Though this is no consolation prize, the NFL must do something that is going to prevent teams from tampering.

Last year the San Francisco 49ers were found guilty of tampering with Lance Briggs, Chicago Bears LB. The punishment was the 49ers lost their fifth round pick, and had to switch third round picks, which the Bears moved up five spots.

As long as there is a rule that prevents tampering, it needs to be applied.  Either remove the rule, or punish people for breaking it.

Teams that follow the rules are at a competitive disadvantage.  If the NFL wants parity, this is not the way to get it.