NFL slaps Falcons for tampering with Kirk Cousins, plus Patriots honor Tom Brady with rousing tribute

Happy Thursday everyone! John Breech is enjoying some much-needed off-season rest, so you have me, Cody Benjamin, to deliver all the latest from the world NFLright here in the Pick Six newsletter.

Be sure to sign up here to ensure you never miss a daily dose of NFL updates. Today we have news about NFL tampering, an unforgettable Tom Brady night and more.

Three months after signing Cousins ​​to a $180 million deal to kick off free agency, Atlanta was penalized for having “inappropriate contact” with the former Minnesota Vikings quarterback during this year’s negotiating period. The punishment: confiscation of a 2025 fifth-round draft pick and payment of a $250,000 fine, with general manager Terry Fontenot also deducting $50,000.

While the tampering violations did not involve communications prior to the NFL’s two-day trading window in March, according to NFL Media, they likely included Cousins ​​— in addition to fellow signees Darnell Mooney and Charlie Woerner — making direct contact and/or or travel plans with Atlanta before their contracts could be finalized. The Philadelphia Eagles, on the other hand, have been cleared of possible tampering charges for signing former New York Giants running back Saquon Barkley, the NFL said.

2. Backup QB Watch: Dolphins and Lions may need help

Speaking of renowned defenders, not every team has the luxury of entering 2024 with a premium starting plan and a backup plan. We sort all depth charts to identify six silently in relation to second place, while also proposing some potential updates. Two teams from the 2023 playoffs made the list:

Detroit Lions | Current backup: Hendon Prostitute | Proposal: Trade for Taylor Heinicke

Hooker has third-round pedigree, but is 26 years old and still learning the No. 2 role, fresh off a “redshirt” season spent recovering from a torn ACL. Heinicke is a different animal, starting 28 games over the past three years and showing enough moxie as a gritty passer to win over plenty of fans. He would certainly get Dan Campbell’s seal of approval for his never-say-die mentality, and his role is more confusing with the Atlanta Falcons following the dual additions of Kirk Cousins ​​and Michael Penix Jr.

Miami Dolphins | Current backup: Mike Branco | Proposal: Subscribe to Ryan Tannehill

When the Dolphins finish negotiating Tua Tagovailoa’s inevitable contract extension, they may want to think twice about their alternative plan, as White has gone just 2-5 with almost as many picks (13) as games played (14), in your career. . Tannehill, the former Dolphins and No. 1 Tennessee Titans, has 144 more games of starting experience, plus a play-action resume that could translate to Mike McDaniel’s time-based system. General manager Chris Grier has defended Tannehill’s run in Miami in the past.

3. Agent’s Opinion: Proposing a deal with Trevor Lawrence

The Jacksonville Jaguars have yet to sign their former No. 1 overall draft pick to a long-term contract, but Trevor Lawrence’s next deal is a tricky projection considering his rollercoaster journey in the NFL. Former agent and salary cap expert Joel Corry has uncovered potential negotiationsarguing that there is a specific fellow quarterback who could prove to be a financial role model for Lawrence:

A deal for the parties could follow in the footsteps of another first overall pick when he extended his rookie contract with two years remaining. Matthew Stafford, the first overall pick in 2009, signed a three-year extension worth $53 million, averaging $17,666,667 per year, in 2013. The deal made Stafford the sixth-highest-paid player in the world. NFL upon signing.

There are some parallels with Lawrence and Stafford early in their careers. Stafford was coming off a 2012 season that didn’t live up to his 2011 campaign, in which he threw for 5,038 yards and 41 touchdown passes. Although Stafford set an NFL record with 727 pass attempts and was second in the league with 4,967 yards, he threw just 20 touchdown passes in 2012. His passer rating also fell from 97.2 (fifth in the NFL) to 79.8 (22nd in the NFL). ). … Becoming the league’s sixth-highest-paid player in a three-year extension would put Lawrence between the $51 million per year Jalen Hurts received in a five-year extension from the Philadelphia Eagles last April and the $46,338. 889 per year in Patrick Mahomes ‘ renegotiated nine-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs.

4. Vikings coach: Sam Darnold is QB1 for now

No surprise here, but Kevin O’Connell has indicated that former New York Jets prospect and All-New York Jets prospect Darnold will enter training camp at the top of the unofficial quarterback depth chart. It’s a tribute to Darnold’s NFL experience, which JJ McCarthy doesn’t yet have, and also to the former’s performance in spring training. McCarthy is clearly the future in Minnesota, but all signs point to the Vikings proceeding cautiously with its launch.

5. Patriots retire at 12th, view Tom Brady statue

Brady may be retired (Image: Disclosure)for now), but he remained a centerpiece of the 2024 offseason, bringing forward his debut as a broadcast analyst and teasing additional post-football ventures. His latest moment in the spotlight: Wednesday night in front of a sellout crowd at Gillette Stadium, during which Patriots owner Robert Kraft officially unveiled the Longtime quarterback in the team’s Hall of Fameretired Brady’s number 12 jersey and unveiled a 12-foot-tall statue of Brady that will be unveiled this season.

6. Extra points: Jets adjust play-caller, Saints TE leaves

Here are some other tips from completing minicamps to keep you informed: