Vikings Not Expected to Get Falcons’ Pick in Kirk Cousins Tampering Case
The Minnesota Vikings will likely see some manner of justice done with regards to the NFL’s tampering case against the Atlanta Falcons involving Kirk Cousins, but they aren’t likely to benefit from it.
Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune authored a mailbag on Tuesday, May 7 and laid out a common “misconception” among some reporting that the league will force a pick swap between the Vikings and Falcons as discipline for the alleged tampering.
Whatever the punishment, I don’t believe it will directly impact the Vikings beyond possibly moving up a draft spot because the Falcons had to forfeit a pick or two.
Brian McCarthy, an NFL official, affirmed that the league is currently conducting an investigation. Previous examples, such as the [Miami] Dolphins’ repeated draft pick forfeitions following the league’s discovery that they had tampered with quarterback Tom Brady and head coach Sean Payton, lead one to conclude that the punishment would only affect the Falcons.
The Arizona Cardinals and the Philadelphia Eagles exchanged selections in order to settle a tampering charge involving Cardinals head coach Jonathan Gannon, thus it appears that there is a misconception that the Vikings can do the same. The two teams did, however, come to an agreement after the Cardinals self-reported the infraction. In this instance, Cousins disclosed during a press conference that he had spoken with Falcons representatives before to authorization.
The Vikings informed Cousins they planned to draft a quarterback in 2024, according to a recent report from Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. This seems to have played a role in Cousins’ decision to switch teams, as did the amount of money Atlanta was willing to offer/guarantee on his new contract, which is $180 million over four years with $90 million fully guaranteed, according to Over The Cap.
Despite leaving Minnesota for Atlanta, Cousins was unable to avoid the prospect of a rookie quarterback taken in the top 10, as the Falcons unexpectedly selected former Washington signal-caller Michael Penix Jr. at No. 8 overall in late April.
“I would 100% understand if Kirk Cousins is still stinging a bit from the whole ordeal. Here’s why — a reason he
chose to leave Minnesota is that, according to Breer, the Vikings were quite honest with the 35-year-old about the likelihood that, even if he stayed, they would select a quarterback of the future high in the draft. “Combining that with the [Vikings’] assurance of a portion, but not all, of a second year on an extension, Cousins calculated the likelihood that, should he remain, he would be moving in 2025.”
Turns out, Cousins was just as shocked as everyone else when the Falcons selected Penix with the eighth pick, but the Vikings were at least upfront with the quarterback about their plans.
If the NFL determines that Atlanta did, in fact, interfere with Cousins, then Atlanta will ultimately pay a heavy price; Minnesota won’t gain much from that punishment.
Nevertheless, the Vikings selected McCarthy with the 10th overall pick and did not have to exchange any first-round picks (apart from the 11th pick) in order to accomplish so. That is a significant victory for the franchise overall.
The management in Minnesota has stated that they will not force McCarthy into a starting position, which may result in Sam Darnold starting the entire season. But the McCarthy era will start in Minneapolis sooner rather than later, possibly at the same time as Cousins’ NFL career is coming to an end.
