The other day is was reported that the Arizona Cardinals might have some sort of "understanding" with quarterback Marc Bulger as to a contract once the lockout has ended. Then on Sunday it was reported that the Baltimore Ravens were not going to pursue any tampering charges against the Cardinals for this alleged contact and "understanding."
Since it was Pro football Talk that was passing on the information, I looked a little more closely to see where they actually got the information.
The tampering article actually came from a Ravens insider, but it appears, at least to me, that the reason that they are not pursing anything is because there is no real evidence. First of all, it would have been a clear violation of the lockout protocol. While Bulger is set to be a free agent, since the new NFL year has not yet technically begun, he is still a member of the Ravens.
Also, the Cardinals have never been one with a reputation of secret deals or transactions discussed under the table.
The supposed rumor was mentioned briefly by Len Pasquarelli from the Sports Xchange, saying this, "A lot of people in the league feel the Cardinals already have an understanding with pending free agent quarterback Marc Bulger."
If I had to speculate myself, I think the understanding is that Bulger knows that the Cardinals wanted him last offseason but couln't make a move for him once he was cut by the Rams. The Cardinals understand that he is going to be a free agent and that he is familiar with the division. That's pretty much it, I'd bet.
So will the Ravens pursue tampering? Nope. Was there tampering? Not likely.
Sounds like a little too much reading into a situation.