Lawyer says Ryan Gold didn't know Cardinals' draft picks

In a statement issued to PFT and others on Sunday, attorney Mike Caspino said the allegations of gambling violations against Cardinals director of college scouting Ryan Gold are "blatantly false." Caspino elaborated on his position in comments to Adam Schefter of ESPN.

As to the claim that Gold engaged in gambling on NFL games, Caspino said Gold's wife was making $10 bets per week with a group of high-school friends — and that Gold wasn't involved. As to the more serious allegation that Gold had shared inside information about the team's draft picks before they were announced, Caspino said that Gold didn't know the draft picks in advance, and that only owner Michael Bidwill and G.M. Monti Ossenfort had the information.

The fact that Ossenfort came up in the Bill Belichick school of extreme secrecy makes this claim plausible. Some teams notoriously protect the identity of its draft picks, to the point of engaging in internal misdirection. In 2005, for example, then-Dolphins coach Nick Saban told staffers that the team would be using the second overall pick on Michigan receiver Braylon Edwards. Instead, Saban picked Auburn running back Ronnie Brown.

Also, Chris Simms has explained on PFT Live that, during his time working for the Patriots, the room containing the draft board was closely protected from access to anyone other than an extremely small group of people.

That said, there's still a lag between the time that the name is shared with the draft room and the moment the pick is announced. (It's unclear when the information was allegedly shared, relative to when the picks were announced.)

Caspino has vowed to appeal. The outcome may hinge on whether Gold will get a fair and impartial hearing from a neutral party, or whether the league will be handling the second look at the decision the league has already made.

Bet on the latter. (Actually don't bet; it's just a figure of speech.)