The NFL is looking into whether and to what extent the Falcons tampered with former Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. During a Thursday joint news conference between G.M. Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and coach Kevin O’Connell, a question was raised as to whether the Vikings have heard from the league office.
“No, and I’ll be honest, that’s kind of above our fray there,” Adofo-Mensah said. “But I’ve just been busy trying to work on the roster, work on preparing to try to talk to you fine citizens. Yeah, I’m not aware of any of that stuff.”
There’s really nothing the league would need from the Vikings at this point. It’s about what the Falcons said or did, before or during the 52-hour negotiating window. As evidence is gathered (if it’s a real investigation and not just an exercise in checking boxes and accepting predictable denials), the league might have questions for the Vikings.
The broader point is this. If the G.M. of the team says, while sitting elbow-to-elbow with the coach, that the issue is “above our fray,” this implies that others higher in the organization are and/or will be involved. This one could go all the way up to ownership, and the Wilfs could be upset not that the Falcons tampered, but that the tampering was so rampant and blatant that it makes the Wilfs look weak and ineffective if they just take it and move on.