Packers defender suffers due to one of the NFL’s crusades and gets the kind of news no player wants to hear
Packers linebacker Quay Walker got fined by the NFL because of a hit on Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett.
The NFL had a concerted effort over the past decades to make the game safer for quarterbacks. And that’s just how football is played now.
The league announced on Saturday the players who were fined for plays during Week 7, and Green Bay Packers off-ball linebacker Quay Walker was fined $17,389 for a hit on a quarterback that targeted the head/neck area. Walker got to Jacoby Brissett in the first quarter of the game.
Curiously enough, Packers edge defender Micah Parsons did not get fined after his hip-drop tackle on Brissett during the Packers’ 27-23 win last Sunday.
A hip-drop tackle occurs when a defender wraps up a ball carrier and rotates or swivels his hips, unweighting himself and dropping onto the ball carrier’s legs during the tackle. The NFL analyzed more than 20,000 tackles in the process of banning the play and determined that this specific technique causes lower extremity injuries at a rate 20 times higher than other tackles, resulting in an unacceptable risk to player health and safety.
For some reason, the refs called the penalty on the field, but the league didn’t see the necessity for additional punishment against Parsons.
The other Packers players to be fined this season are safety Xavier McKinney, punished because of a taunting penalty during the Week 1 win over the Detroit Lions, and linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper, fined $6,891 because of a facemask penalty in Week 2 against the Washington Commanders.
NFL fines
While it’s tough to see football players losing money like that for normal plays, at least it goes to a good cause. The fines collected are donated to the Professional Athletes Foundation to support legends in need.
Players are notified of violations and may appeal any ruling. Appeals officers, such as former NFL players Derrick Brooks, Ramon Foster, and Jordy Nelson, who are jointly appointed and paid by the NFL/NFLPA, hear cases. The decisions made are final and binding.
The potential violations include offenses against game officials, player safety rules or flagrant personal fouls, fighting, sportsmanship, uniform rules, and gang signing.
Last year, the Packers were among the least penalized teams in football in this area. In 2024, 543 plays resulted in fines, or 1.16% of all plays in the season.
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