Eagles, Cardinals settle tampering investigation into Jonathan Gannon hiring

In the immediate lead-up to the 2023 NFL Draft, it was announced that a tampering investigation featuring the Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles has been resolved. Perhaps not surprisingly, the solution had ramifications for the draft itself.

NFL.com is reporting that investigation surrounding Arizona's hire of former Eagles defensive coordinator Jonathan Gannon as its new head coach has led to an agreement that will see the two teams swap third-round picks. The Cardinals will receive an additional fifth-round pick from Philly in 2024.

What that means for the current draft is that the Eagles now hold the No. 66 overall pick while the Cardinals will be working with No. 94 (that's the pick swap).

"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," a joint statement between the teams read.

"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."

Gannon was hired by the Cardinals on February 14, 2023, but apparently, that conversation started with him in the time period between the Eagles winning the NFC and their appearance in Super Bowl LVII -- which was a no-no.

Though this is classic tampering, one has to imagine general manager Monti Ossenfort would do it again without question if Gannon ends up being the right coach for the job. That much remains to be seen, but he will be tasked with replacing Kliff Kingsbury, who was an underwhelming 28-37-1 in four seasons down in the desert.