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Philadelphia Eagles wide DeVonta Smith had a scary moment last weekend when a hit from Saints rookie Khristian Boyd left him motionless on the Superdome turf.
The incident occured after officials failed to blow a play dead long after Smith’s forward progress had stopped. Boyd then came in, lowered his head and delivered a crushing blow that left Smith with a concussion.
The NFL levied a $4,600 fine on Boyd on Thursday. But some fans felt that number was far too low, especially after New Orleans quarterback Derek Carr was fined more than three times as much for an end zone celebration against the Dallas Cowboys a week prior.
NFL is fining Saints rookie defensive tackle Khristian Boyd $4,600 for the hit on DeVonta Smith that landed the Eagles wide receiver in concussion protocol.
Here is the hit: pic.twitter.com/AmSRgj4fJA
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) September 27, 2024
“Carr got fined triple that for doing a Michael Jackson dance,” one fan wrote.
Though some others felt Boyd shouldn’t have been fined at all, and it’s the officials who deserve scrutiny.
“NFL fining him for essentially nothing because they know they’re partially responsible for not blowing the play dead when they should have,” Twitter user @blames_ wrote.
Eagles defensive back Darius Slay believes Boyd’s hit was dirty.
“I know they’ll be somebody getting some healthy, healthy fines coming in their locker room, so they better be prepared,” Slay said during his “Big Play Slay” podcast on Wednesday. “Good thing they have a job that pays very well. Get ready to donate that to the NFL Foundation because they got one for you, and they fixing to get that out of your pocket. I don’t want like nobody taking their money, but doing stuff like that, money need to be took.”
NFL Did Not Fine Player Who Appeared To Spit On DeVonta Smith
Meanwhile, the NFL did not fine Saints defensive end Payton Turner, who Eagles fans alleged spit on Smith following the hit.
Turner, unsurprisingly, denied those allegations.
Smith missed the entire week of Eagles practice due to the concussion. Philadephia is also without Pro Bowl receiver AJ Brown and star right tackle Lane Johnson ahead of Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.