The 2024 NFL draft is just days away, and the Chicago Bears are gearing up to add a pair of top prospects in the first round.
There’s no surprise Caleb Williams will be their selection at No. 1, although No. 9 has some more intrigue. But there’s also a storyline involving the team picking one spot ahead of them — the Atlanta Falcons at No. 8 — that bears some monitoring this week.
The NFL determined the Falcons had tampered with then-free agent quarterback Kirk Cousins before the official negotiation window opened. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the NFL could reach a conclusion about the Falcons’ tampering with Cousins as early as this week. And Bears fans should be keeping their eyes peeled.
Sources believe the discipline, which is likely to involve draft picks, is expected to be more severe for the Falcons. Here are two examples of tampering discipline from the NFL:
- The Dolphins forfeited their 2023 first-round pick and a 2024 third-round selection for tampering with Tom Brady and Sean Payton on three occasions from 2019 to 2022. Team owner Stephen Ross and vice chairman/limited partner Bruce Beal were fined; Ross was fined $1.5 million, while Beal was fined $500,000.
- The Chiefs forfeited their 2016 third-round pick and a 2017 sixth-round selection for tampering with Jeremy Maclin in 2015. The Chiefs were also fined $250,000. Coach Andy Reid was fined $75,000, and general manager John Dorsey was fined $25,000.
If the league were to act before the first round of the NFL draft kicks off, it could have implications with Chicago’s second top-10 selection, currently sitting at No. 9. Given Atlanta’s tampering involving a quarterback, could the league forfeit or, at the very least, move the Falcons’ selection to further in the first round?
The Bears would, hypothetically, have the eighth overall selection, giving them a better opportunity to land another blue chip prospect or put them in a position to trade back if a top quarterback is still on the board.
Not to mention, if Chicago is high on drafting Dallas Turner — who could be the top edge rusher off the board — they wouldn’t have to compete with Atlanta, who could go edge at No. 8.
It’s definitely a situation worth monitoring as the week progresses.
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