Reports that the Dolphins had agreed to a deal with Ndamukong Suh surfaced well before it was permissible under NFL rules for the Dolphins to agree to a deal with Suh. Under the letter of the law, the Dolphins almost certainly violated the league’s tampering rules by coming to terms at a time when only the Lions had the right to do a deal with Suh.
But that kind of tampering is so commonplace in the NFL that most of the time, everyone just agrees to look the other way. And the Lions seem inclined to do just that.
Publicly, the Lions aren’t saying anything about potential tampering, but privately they have decided not to pursue a tampering case against the Dolphins, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press reports.
The league appears to be looking the other way as well, as Dolphins coach Joe Philbin said he has heard nothing from the league about a tampering investigation. So while the Jets and Patriots are at each others’ throats about potential tampering regarding Darrelle Revis, the Lions seem to have no problem with what the Dolphins did.