Subscribe
Follow Us
The NFL officially fined Arthur Smith and the Atlanta Falcons for how they handled Bijan Robinson's injury status back in Week 7. Smith was fined a cool $100,000. Now, the third-year head coach responds to being fined.
Essentially, the Falcons' head coach claims it was a “lesson learned” after receiving the $100,000 fine, according to team reporters. After leaving a lengthy statement, it's safe to say, that Arthur Smith probably won't make the same mistake again.
“What I will give the league a lot of credit for is there are a lot of things when you're going through the injury report, and clearly we understood their point of view, but they also understood our point of view, too, which is why it wasn't some contentious battle. As you go through that, just full transparency, there's an inquiry and usually you have to respond with a letter – so, it's not like it's some court case that you're sitting in – it wasn't a lot of time spent, just: Here's how we interpreted it, here's our intent, nothing was done to try to game anything like that. I understood their point of view, so lesson learned there. It was a good conversation, and there are probably a lot of conversations that are going to be had in the spring. That's kind of where we ended it.”
Article Continues Below
From the sounds of it, it was a rather easy process for the NFL and the Falcons. Additionally, Arthur Smith didn't seem to disagree with the league's decision to fine him $100,000.
“Again, lesson learned, and we completely understand their position. I think they understood where we were coming from. So, that's what ended up happening.”
With that said, the Falcons can now put this situation in the past and focus on the future. These last three games of the regulars season might be pivotal for the franchise. Especially considering rumors claim the outcome of these last three games could determine Arthur Smith's fate in Atlanta.
