Getty Image / Michael Reaves
The Atlanta Falcons and their head coach Arthur Smith have been fined by the NFL for violating the league’s injury report policy in Week 7 against their NFC South rivals.
In the Falcons’ Week 7 road game against the Buccaneers, rooking running back Bijan Robinson only played 11 snaps. It was later revealed that he was dealing with an illness that cut his snaps short.
Atlanta was able to pull off a 16-13 win at the Ray-Jay thanks to a Younghoe Koo 51-yarder as time expired in the 4th. And the league is now holding the Atlanta Falcons accountable for their egregious crime against the game of football.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero was first to report on X that the NFL had fined the Atlanta Falcons $75,000 and head coach Arthur Smith was personally fined $25,000 for the violation.
The #Falcons have been fined $75,000 and head coach Arthur Smith $25,000 for violating the NFL Injury Report Policy prior to the club’s Week 7 game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, per league source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 22, 2023
As a born-and-raised Tampa Bay Buccaneers fan myself, I’m curious why the NFL hasn’t brought up the possibility of jail time for this egregious offense but that’s something we can discuss down the road of the Buccies miss the playoffs.
Jokes aside, it does signal that the NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL plan to enforce penalties more frequently surrounding the league’s injury policy as omissions of injuries or illnesses can deeply impact a team’s game plan should it pertain to key individuals on offense, which it certainly did in this case.
The Falcons currently have a projected 11% chance of making the Playoffs, according to the NFL.