NFL Draft: Eagles and Cardinals settle Jonathan Gannon tampering investigation with draft-day trade
The Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals have settled a tampering investigation with an exchange of NFL Draft picks.
In exchange for ending a dispute over the Cardinals' hiring of former Eagles defensive coordinator as the Cardinals' new head coach, the Cardinals have agreed to a trade that will send the No. 66 pick in this year's draft to Philadelphia in exchange for the No. 94 pick and a fifth-rounder in 2024.
The two teams confirmed the settlement and trade in a joint statement released shortly before the draft, revealing the Cardinals' self-reported a violation in which general manager Monti Ossenfort spoke with Gannon via phone a few days after the Eagles' win in the 2023 NFC championship game, when such contact is not permitted.
The full statement:
The Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles have agreed on the settlement of an issue concerning an instance of impermissible contact by Arizona during its head coaching search this past January.
The Cardinals self-reported to the National Football League that General Manager Monti Ossenfort had a phone conversation with then-Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon in the days following the NFC Championship Game, a period during which contact is not permitted under the League's Anti-Tampering Policy.
To resolve the matter between the two clubs, the Cardinals and Eagles have agreed to swap third round picks in the 2023 NFL Draft and the Cardinals receive Philadelphia's fifth-round selection in 2024.
The Cardinals fired head coach Kliff Kingsbury on Jan. 9, the day after the end of the regular season, and announced they were hiring Gannon on Feb. 14, two days after the Eagles lost Super Bowl LVII.
Gannon, who had been a hot name on the coaching carousel after two seasons as Eagles defensive coordinator, actually announced he was staying with Philadelphia on the day of the NFC championship game. Ossenfort reportedly gave him a call days later.
We won't know for a while whether or not Gannon was a good hire, but a forced trade isn't exactly a strong start. And yet, a tampering violation isn't even close to the Cardinals' biggest problem at this point.
