Cam Jordan ‘irked’ by $550K in NFL fines against Saints for allegedly fake injury

New Orleans Saints defensive end Cam Jordan took to Twitter to vent about how the NFL’s ‘ridiculous’ fines ‘irked’ him for being excessively punitive. 

As funny as flop compilations may be for sports fans, leagues make it clear that faking or exaggerating injury is no laughing matter.

While a common tactic for advantages on the hardwood, there are reasons why football players may fake injuries on the field aside from drawing a penalty flag. Say, for example, a player faked an injury on a critical fourth-down and interrupted the flow of a successful no-huddle offense.

In a situation like that, a player and their team may be fined $550,000 — at least, that’s what New Orleans Saints defensive end Cam Jordan is being fined for allegedly faking a leg injury in that exact situation.

ProFootballTalk’s Mike Florio described the situation that drew quite the penalty from the NFL:

"“The incident happened after a third-and-17 play by the Buccaneers, midway through the fourth quarter. As quarterback Tom Brady lined up the offense for fourth and 10, Jordan looked to the sideline, took a knee, and pointed to his lower left leg.The source says that other camera angles reveal Jordan receiving direction from the sideline to go down.The obvious goal, as the NFL concluded, was to take steam out of the Tampa Bay effort to morph into hurry-up mode and convert the fourth-down play. After the injury stoppage, the Buccaneers punted.”"

According to Florio’s source, the $550,000 in fines was distributed across the Saints organization. Jordan is reportedly expected to pay $50,000, as is position coach Ryan Nielsen. Meanwhile, Dennis Allen has been fined $100,000, and the Saints have been fined $350,000.

Jordan took to Twitter to express his frustration to the public, wondering if he can make fine amounts public knowledge. Fortunately, Florio shared the alleged amounts from a source to give fans a glimpse into why Jordan is “irked” by the NFL’s latest discipline.

Cam Jordan frustrated by the NFL for excessive fake injury fine — especially when injury is real

In his tweets, Jordan denies faking an injury, saying that he “clearly aggravated something.” Because of that and the notion of being fined for an injury assumed to be fake, Jordan initially laughed at the fine — until he heard the amount.

If Jordan and Saints medical staff are able to prove that Jordan did suffer some sort of injury, even a mild one, perhaps the fine could be rescinded.

To that effect, the Saints have denied any wrongdoing for that reason: they maintain that Jordan was actually hurt as he “felt foot pain following a third down play.”

The Saints offer further context, clarifying that although Jordan was taped up and able to finish the game, an MRI scan the following day confirmed that Jordan “suffered an acute mid-foot sprain in his left foot.”

Jordan and the Saints aren’t the only organization hit with a fine this week. If it’s any consolation for Jordan, Cincinnati Bengals safety Jessie Bates was also fined $50,000 for allegedly faking an injury as well in order to avoid a 12 Men On The Field penalty.

Bates plans to appeal, and guessing from New Orleans’ tweet, it’s assumed that Jordan will fight his own fine as well.

What may have begun as a well-intentioned method of deterring false injuries has become an embarrassment for the NFL: all they had to do was call the Saints and ask for Jordan’s medical status to realize his “fake” injury was all too real.