The Saints and defensive end Cam Jordan weren’t the only ones to find out the hard way that the NFL means what it says when it says to not fake injuries.
The Bengals and safety Jessie Bates have been $50,000 fined, too, for Bates cartoonishly falling to the ground as the Bengals were trying to get substitutes into last Sunday’s game against the Chiefs, per multiple sources.
Here’s the video. Bates can see the Chiefs coming to the line of scrimmage as two Bengals defenders rush toward the line of scrimmage. And he collapses to the ground.
Per the memo that was sent eight days ago to all teams, the punishment includes a minimum fine of $50,000 for the player, a minimum fine of $350,000 for the team, a minimum fine of $100,000 for head coach Zac Taylor, and a $50,000 fine — if applicable — to the position coach. (It’s unclear whether any assistant coaches were fined in Bates’s case.)
Bates will have the right to appeal. And the best way to win on appeal could be to say he was told to do it.