Saints DE Cameron Jordan appealing fine from alleged fake injury: ‘My name’s low-key been slandered’
New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan isn’t here for the NFL’s accusations that he faked an injury earlier this month.
Jordan was fined $50,000 for allegedly faking an injury in the Saints’ 17-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Dec. 5. Jordan has denied that claim, saying he sustained a mid-foot sprain that an MRI later confirmed.
"I feel like my name's low-key been slandered. Like I haven't played with more or less," Jordan said, via ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. "And even then, I went out, went to the tent, got taped up ... went back to the playing field and finished the game.
"In terms of how I play this game and how hard I play this game, I was like 'Yo, if this was a civil lawsuit, I'd countersue for triple the amount.' The amount of work that I've put in to be a part of the league, the amount of honor I take in playing this game, yeah, that's why I also laugh at this. ... You know my track record, you know I'll do everything I can to try to be on the field and try to be part of the team."
Jordan went down with an injury in the fourth quarter of their game against the Buccaneers while Tampa Bay was rushing to set up to get a play off. Jordan was reportedly seen on camera “receiving direction” from the sideline to go down with the injury, which he and the Saints have denied.
The NFL fined Jordan $50,000. The Saints were fined $350,000, head coach Dennis Allen was fined $100,000, and defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen was fined $50,000.
The fine came shortly after the league sent a memo to all teams warning them against “deliberate actions to delay” games, something he said he had seen repeatedly.
When he was told about the fine, Jordan was blown away.
"I was like, fine for what?" Jordan asked, via ESPN. "You hit a quarterback too hard, you can catch a fine. I was like, 'Dang, the play I did get hurt, I did grab Tom Brady. I didn't put a pillow down before I hit the ground, that could've been a fine there.' But no, it's because I got hurt and was trying to walk off the field and my team was doing the right thing by me, by making sure it wasn't anything more than it was."
Jordan, 33, is in his 12th season in the league — all of which he's spent in New Orleans. He has 44 total tackles and 5.5 sacks this year.
Jordan said he plans to appeal the fine with the league.
"The fact that I have to go through an appeal is almost funny in itself," Jordan said, via ESPN. "If anything, the league should be like 'Hey, call in and be like there was an actual [injury] and that's the end of it,' but apparently, there's almost a half million dollars worth of fines, so you have to go through an appeal process."
