Falcons, HC Arthur Smith Fined For Handling Of Week 7 Injury Report

In Week 7, the Falcons raised eyebrows for the way in which they handled their injury report. Specifically, running back Bijan Robinson was not listed despite feeling unwell the night before the game. That has now resulted in league discipline.

The Falcons have been fined $75K and head coach Arthur Smith another $25K following the NFL’s investigation into the matter.

Robinson dressed for the game against the Buccaneers, but he admitted after the contest that he was still battling headaches and an illness.

The first-round rookie logged only 11 snaps and touched the ball once, a marked deviation from his usage through much of the rest of the season.

There’s an inquiry and usually you have to respond with a letter. It wasn’t like a court case, it wasn’t a lot of time spent,” Smith said when speaking on the matter, via ESPN’s Michael Rothstein.

“Here is how we interpreted it. Here was our intent. Nothing was done to try to game anything like that and I understood their point of view. So lesson learned there.”

With Robinson barely in the gameplan, the Falcons leaned heavily on Tyler Allgeier and Cordarrelle Patterson in the backfield.

The pair combined for 31 carries and 115 yards, while Allgeier added 53 yards on three catches. That production helped Atlanta earn a 16-13 win, and Smith noted the effectiveness of the team’s other options with respect to the decision to keep Robinson sidelined for much of the contest.

The Falcons have given Robinson 20 or more touches three times this season, but he has also seen less than 15 touches five times (including Week 7).

That fluctuation is in part a product of Atlanta’s depth at the RB spot and the team’s attempt to avoid overusing the highly-touted Texas alum.

Robinson comfortably leads the Falcons in rushing yards with 801, and they rank ninth in the league in overall production on the ground (126 yards per game). In general, the 21-year-old has been a key offensive contributor since Week 7 in terms of usage and playing time.

For such failures to report injuries or illnesses, the NFL has fined players financially on several occasions. According to D.

Orlando Ledbetter of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, teams and head coaches were penalized in 2019 for filing false injury reports. As they prepare for the final three games of the season, the Falcons and Smith have now been added to the list.

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