The Detroit Lions are finding out on Saturday that the NFL is cracking down on how injury designations are being handled. The NFL has fined Detroit's organization $75,000 and Matt Patricia $10,000 for violating the NFL's Injury Report Policy, per Adam Schefter.
NFL fined the Lions’ organization $75,000, HC Matt Patricia $25,000, and GM Bob Quinn $10,000 for failing to properly update the injury status of QB Matthew Stafford before the Nov. 10 game against the Chicago Bears.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 7, 2019
Of course, these fines were handed out for how the Lions failed to designate Matthew Stafford's back injury in a timely manner. Back in Week 10 versus the Chicago Bears, Detroit had Stafford listed as questionable to play.
Players on the Lions were informed that the veteran quarterback wouldn't suit up a day prior to the game. Despite that, the Lions didn't rule Stafford out until 90 minutes before the game began.
As a result, the NFL is punishing Detroit for not making a decision when they originally knew of his status. Besides the organization and Patricia, the NFL also fined Bob Quinn another $10,000 for his involvement in the situation.
Article Continues BelowStafford has been inactive since that game against the Bears on November 10th. At this moment, it is still undecided on whether or not Stafford will return to the field in 2019.
Earlier this season, the Pittsburgh Steelers were also fined for a similar occurrence. Ben Roethlisberger was diagnosed with an elbow issue following Pittsburgh's lopsided loss against the New England Patriots in Week 1.
In Week 2, Roethlisberger was never listed on the team's injury report. Similarly to the Lions, the NFL fined the Steelers $75,000 and Mike Tomlin $25,000.
Without a doubt, the NFL understands that Las Vegas benefits from knowing injury news as soon as possible. That is why the NFL is worried about teams withholding information from the media ahead of games.