Khristian Boyd’s fine for DeVonta Smith hit is a joke, as NFL avoids accountability

The NFL has finally decided to weigh in on the controversial hit from the Week 3 game between the New Orleans Saints and the Philadelphia Eagles. Early in the fourth quarter of the game, Eagles receiver DeVonta Smith caught a pass, and was being driven back by two Saints defenders, when New Orleans defensive tackle Khristian Boyd came from the other direction and hit Smith in the back.

The contact from Boyd led to Smith’s helmet coming off as the receiver fell to the ground, clearly affected by the hit. Smith left the game with a concussion, and Eagles players and fans characterized Boyd’s hit as dirty, although, he wasn’t flagged for the tackle.

However, on Wednesday, the NFL deemed Boyd was in the wrong, fining the rookie defensive tackle $4,600 for the hit. Many people who argued the hit was egregious and dirty are now arguing this fine is letting Boyd off easy. However, since Boyd is a first-time offender, the league can’t fine him more than 10% of his salary cap hit for a game. That’s why he wasn’t fined the usual $16,883 first-time offenders are fined.

While the outrage directed at Boyd is still incredibly high, especially since he wasn’t disciplined harshly enough, according to the people who believe he was in the wrong, the person who should be upset is Khristian Boyd. The rookie tackle didn’t do anything wrong, and the league is taking money out of his pocket, while using him as a scapegoat, instead of taking accountability for their shortcomings.

NFL unjustly fines Khristian Boyd for his hit on DeVonta Smith

First and foremost, it’s extremely unfortunate DeVonta Smith was injured, and everyone wants to see him have swift recovery. However, Khristian Boyd didn’t do anything wrong on the play. The facts of the situation are Smith was a ball carrier on a live play, and Boyd delivered a clean hit.

While Smith was being driven back, he was still on his feet, and the whistle hadn’t been blown yet. Boyd was well within his right to deliver a tackle and bring him to the ground— that’s what he did. He drove his shoulder through Smith’s back, so there isn’t even a conversation to be had about helmet contact or targeting.

The outcome of the play was definitely unfortunate, but it’s not an outcome that happened because Boyd did something wrong. Anyone who acknowledges the whistle wasn’t blown, but argues Boyd should’ve approached Smith with a sense of gentleness or not tackled him at all, is not discussing the play or the game of football in good faith.

Players are coached to play until the whistle from the day they step on the football field; Boyd shouldn’t be faulted for doing that. Additionally, the game of football has seen several plays where ball carriers miraculously escape the grasp of defenders, and gain more yardage because the referee didn’t blow the whistle. If Boyd didn’t engage, and Smith found a way to do that, the defensive tackle would’ve been ridiculed.

If blame is going to be placed on anyone for how this play unfolded it should be placed on the referees, who were slow to blow the whistle. The league doesn’t report how or if referees are punished for their mistakes, but the fact the NFL decided to fine Boyd is a sign there likely wasn’t any sense of accountability for the referees who played a role in what happened.

That means the referees will get to move forward, likely making the same mistake again, and some other player will be penalized, like Khristian Boyd, for playing football the way it’s supposed to be played.

READ MORE