Three Teams Fined for OTA Violations

Three teams were disciplined by the NFL on Thursday for violating a no-contact rule during their previous organized training activities earlier this offseason.

Word came down that the Jacksonville Jaguars received a $200,000 fine, with their head coach Urban Meyer having to shell out 100k. The Dallas Cowboys and San Francisco 49ers also received fines totaling $100,000, while the Boys head coach Mike McCarthy and the Niners coach Kyle Shanahan were each docked 50 grand.

The teams also learned that they would lose some practices, as reports showed the Jags would lose two organized team activity practices for 2022, while the Cowboys lost one week of practices next year, and the 49ers had to cancel their final week of OTAs for 2021.

Details Continue to Emerge

While some details are still clouded at the moment, a source does know of a wrong one team committed. “A person familiar with the punishment told USA Today that the Jaguars were in violation during a June 1 practice in which the coaching staff did not instruct players to go through live contact work. A few players, however, overextended into live contact. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the infraction or the punishment.”

However, while the Jaguars do have some form of details, the requirements of the rule may be a bit iffy. This raises the question of what happened, but no other ideas have been released. In an NFL.com article, “Specifics of the violations are unknown, though they typically center on intensity of practice sessions and resulting contact. Players are in shorts, jerseys, and helmets during these sessions, meaning contact is expected to be minimal if not nonexistent.”

CBA Rules in Place

And under the recent collective bargaining agreement, non-contact practices are required during the early stages of the full team offseason. While the Niners and the Cowboys have not come forward yet to acknowledge what they did, the Jags are being vigilant.

“We’ve been informed of the fines issued by the league and will accept the NFL discipline as it pertains to a contact violation during practice on June 1,” the team said in a statement they released on Thursday afternoon. “The Jaguars are vigilant about practicing within the CBA rules and will re-emphasize offseason training rules as they relate to contact. We are looking forward to the start of training camp (this) month.”

However, there is a catch within the CBA deal. If teams are saying that they are following the non-contact rule, they must provide proof. According to the USA Today Sports article published Thursday, “Under the CBA agreement, all teams must film their OTA practices that allow the league reviewing capability to review to enforce the non-contact rule.”

And with the OTAs, if the no contact rule is not enforced, there could also sprout some health issues. Two examples of which occurred during 49ers camp. “Two 49ers were injured during OTAs: offensive lineman Justin Skule and defensive back Tarvarius Moore. Each suffered injuries that will likely keep them out for the 2021 season.”

These fines will serve as a notice to other squads that the full requirements of no contact must be strictly adhered to so that other teams don’t pull the same stuff that happened and no other fines or punishments will be served.