Carolina Panthers safeties Xavier Woods and Demani Richardson have both been fined by the NFL for unnecessary roughness during their Week 9 matchup against the New Orleans Saints.
Woods was fined $16,883 for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Saints wide receiver Chris Olave during the first quarter. Woods was flagged on the play, and Olave left the game with a concussion. Olave has been placed on injured reserve as this is the second concussion that he has sustained this season.
NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero posted a clip of Woods’ hit to Olave on X.
It was a very unnecessary hit by Woods, who came in late after Olave wasn’t able to make the catch. Quarterback Derek Carr played a role in the incident as well, throwing a high and uncatchable pass to Olave across the middle in traffic. Hopefully both Woods and Carr can learn from the incident and be better next time.
As for Richardson, he was fined a smaller amount of $4,463 for a hit on Saints tight end Juwan Johnson early in the second quarter. Richardson’s hit wasn’t as egregious as Woods’, but he was flagged on the play. The rookie Richardson had an excellent game against New Orleans, recording 12 tackles and one pass defensed.
The Panthers edged out the Saints 23-22 for their second win of the season. They will now take on the New York Giants in Munich, Germany on Sunday as the NFL closes out its 2024 international games schedule. Carolina will look to close its disappointing year out on a high note with an eye towards 2025.
