Bengals Backup Says He Will Appeal Fine That Was More Than Double His Game Check

Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver/special teams maven Stanley Morgan has received a FedEx envelope from the league before, but even though he knew what to expect before ripping it open, he was still in shock when he read the letter.

The league fined Morgan $43,709 for unnecessary roughness on a tackle in the second quarter of the 30-27 loss to the Houston Texans on Nov. 12.

“I was shocked just to get a penalty,” Morgan said. “Then when I saw the number, I mean, I paid to play that game.”

Why Stanley Morgan Is Appealing His $43,709 Fine

The officials flagged Morgan for unnecessary roughness based on the hit being out of bounds. But when Morgan opened the letter, it said he was being fined for impermissible use of the helmet.

Here’s the Morgan penalty. Big number for this sort of hit, and for a guy on a game day check after a practice squad elevation. pic.twitter.com/SVJLy2Pklc

— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) November 18, 2023

According to the NFL Schedule of Fines, a first offense for impermissible use of the helmet/launching is $21,855, and $43,709 is the amount for the second offense. But this was Morgan’s first fine of the season.

“Of course I’m gonna appeal it,” he said. “I feel like I didn’t do anything wrong. I put my head out of the way. I wasn’t trying to do anything like that. I’m not a dirty player at all.”

Morgan has been fined before, including on the first play of his first game in the league. He was blocking on a kickoff return against Arizona in Week 4, 2019. He received another fine last year in the New Orleans game, again for an illegal block on a kickoff return.

He appealed both of those fines and won, so he’s hoping for a similar outcome for this one.

MORE: Cincinnati Bengals Depth Chart

As a standard practice squad elevation for the game, Morgan earned a paycheck of roughly $17,000 and drew a fine worth more than twice that.

“I don’t understand it,” Morgan said. “Hopefully I can fight it. I’ll let you know Wednesday or Thursday what they say.”

The league has issued 280 fines this season. Only four have been more expensive. Atlanta’s Keith Smith drew an $87,418 fine for unnecessary roughness on the first play his Week 3 game at Detroit and  Houston’s Denzel Perryman (who was suspended for two games following his hit against Ja’Marr Chase) was fined $66,666 for unnecessary roughness in Week 2 against Indianapolis.

Additionally, Pittsburgh’s Jaylen Warren, who is coming to Paycor Stadium to the face Bengals on Sunday, has received a pair of $48,556 fines this year, one in Week 2 against the Browns and another in Week 7 against the Rams.

Morgan is the sixth Bengals player to receive a fine this year. The previous five all were for unnecessary roughness and include Cam Taylor-Britt ($7,516 vs. the Rams), Dax Hill ($14,731 vs. the Seahawks), B.J. Hill ($10,927 vs. the Seahawks), Cordell Volson ($5,746) vs. the Bills, and Chidobe Awuzie ($10,927 vs. the Texans).

Only a handful of teams have fewer fines than the Bengals — Jaguars (four), Panthers (four), Colts (five), 49ers (five), Eagles (five), and Chargers (five).

The two teams with the most are the ones the Bengals just faced and are about to play. The Steelers have 20, and the Ravens have 17.

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