Saints starter fined next-to-nothing after dirty, dangerous hit on DeVonta Smith

New Orleans Saints DT Khristian Boyd drew the ire of all of Philadelphia in his team's Week 3 loss to the Eagles on Sunday, laying a vicious late hit on Devonta Smith that knocked the star receiver out of the game and into concussion protocol. And Philly has a right to be upset: Saints coach Dennis Allen can say whatever he wants, but the play clearly crossed a line, a cheap shot on a defenseless receiver whose forward progress had already been stopped seconds earlier.

Smith's status for Week 4 and beyond is now in doubt, and the outcome could've been even worse than that.

The NFL apparently agrees with that assessment, deeming Boyd's hit illegal and slapping him with a fine. That fine is so paltry, however, that it makes you wonder just how seriously the league takes its appeals to player safety.

NFL gives Khristian Boyd a slap on the wrist for Devonta Smith hit

Per Saints beat writer Matthew Paras, the league has fined Boyd $4,600, a number that feels disproportionate to the flagrance of the hit — one that Eagles safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson called the "dirtiest" he's ever seen in football. Granted, there's the collective bargaining agreement to consider when the NFL doles out discipline like this. But the CBA stipulates that a first offense for a hit on a defenseless player can draw a fine of up to $16,883, nearly quadruple the number the league handed down to Boyd.

Put simply, Roger Goodell's office could've come down on this with a far firmer hand but opted not to. That's a big mistake; while there's certainly plenty of grey area in policing the inherent violence of professional football, hits like the one Boyd laid on Smith — one that had nothing to do with making a play on the ball — are cut and dry. There shouldn't be any place for them in the current game, but with punishments like this, the NFL hasn't given much incentive for defenders to think twice.