NFL's punishment for Falcons-Kirk Cousins tampering does more harm than good

Just because I like the fact that the Atlanta Falcons got off so easy for the Kirk Cousins tampering charges doesn't mean this is a good thing for the league. Long overdue, the NFL doled out its punishments to the Falcons for their role in tampering with the former Minnesota Vikings quarterback, as well as absolutely nothing for the Philadelphia Eagles tampering with Saquon Barkley.

Ian Rapoport of The NFL Network shared with us that the Eagles were not punished for tampering with the former star running back of the New York Giants. Atlanta, who apparently tampered with two other players in former Chicago Bears wide receiver Darnell Mooney and former San Francisco 49ers tight end Charlie Woerner, only lost a fifth-round pick and were fined a combined $300,000 over this.

This suggests the NFL really didn't have as much on the Falcons as expected, or anything at all on the Eagles. It is a bad look for the shield because the other 28 franchises not involved in this mess are being told by the league that it is okay to tamper. In reality, it probably is just fine, as players who are about to hit free agency already know where they want to go for the most part. The NFL lost leverage.

I obviously have mixed feelings about this, but I think this is a referendum on the NFL league office.

Of course, Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk is not the least bit happy that Atlanta got off so easily.

Let's discuss the ramifications of the NFL giving Atlanta a slap on the wrist and Philadelphia nothing.

Atlanta Falcons get a slap on the wrist over for Kirk Cousins tampering

Look, I can say for certain that Cousins and Woerner were always going to come to Atlanta in free agency. Cousins' wife is from Alpharetta and he offseasons in Metro Atlanta. Woerner is from Tiger, Georgia and played his college ball over in Athens. He may have been a UGA legacy before turning pro, but he probably always had a soft spot for the Falcons. Why not play for his hometown team?

As far as Mooney is concerned, he may have had a connection with Falcons front office executive Ryan Pace from their time in Chicago. Although seeing the Falcons get fined $250,000 and general manager Terry Fontenot losing $50,000 out of his own bank account, so what? Atlanta was ultra-aggressive this offseason in many levels. Being aggressive usually wins in a sport like football.

Overall, I think what we are seeing is the league getting more player-friendly before our very eyes. Trust me, this is a good thing. You want to have the workforce happy about working somewhere. Plus, I think it is important to have teams in major cities like Atlanta and Philadelphia to have some juice about them. The Eagles are already good, and the Falcons certainly seem to be on the come-up.

However, how the NFL ruled in favor of Atlanta and Philadelphia's favor here tells me another franchise is going to more than cross the line with its tampering ways in the near future. I can't say it will be these two teams per se, but someone will inevitably do far worse than what the Falcons were to have allegedly done. At that point, we will wonder if the NFL will have the backbone to do anything.

Today was a win for the players and teams, but a loss for the league being able to maintain control.