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New Orleans Saints linebacker Danny Stutsman has been fined by the NFL this week. This is the third time Stutsman has been docked by the league.
Sep 27, 2026; New Orleans, Louisiana, USA; New Orleans Saints linebacker Danny Stutsman (28) sacks Las Vegas Raiders quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) in the first half at Caesars Superdome.
Stephen Lew-Imagn Images
New Orleans Saints linebacker Danny Stutsman has been fined by the NFL this week.
Per Nick Underhill, Stutsman was docked $7,011 for roughing the passer for his hit on Las Vegas Raiders QB Kirk Cousins during last Sunday’s 35-27 loss.
This is third time Stutsman has been fined by the league. He’s been previously dock twice for Impermissible Use of the Helmet, with the latest coming from Week 3 of the 2026 preseason.
Danny Stutsman reacts to his penalty
The play occurred during the second quarter of the game, a third-and-four at the Saints’ own six-yard line. Stutsman was showing blitz and beat second-year running back Ashton Jeanty with a clean swim move for a clear path at Cousins. Cousins managed to get rid of the ball right as Stutsman initiated contact with him, and Stutsman drove him to the ground. The play was flagged due to the majority of Stutsman’s body weight landing on top of Cousins.
It sounds questionable, but it is the letter of the law in the NFL.
“In college you can kind of get away with something like that,” Stutsman said after Sunday’s game. “Obviously, the NFL tries to protect the guys that are getting paid a lot of money. But you know, at the end of the day, it’s not like I was doing anything malicious. I’m just kind of trying to secure a sack. Ball’s in his hand. It’s a bang-bang play. I guess I don’t get to make those calls. But yeah, it is what it is.”
Stutsman knows he can’t change the rules, so he must work within them to avoid this from recurring.
“I mean, you kind of have to,” Stutsman said. “Like, you know, they can’t just praise you and then you keep doing it and it keep being a flag. You know, obviously the NFL is taking care of their guys, so you have to adapt to the circumstances.”
The Raiders scored on the very next play. In a game decided by just eight points, one penalty can make all the difference.
Stutsman will look to get the sack next time, and not the flag and fine that may come with it.
New Orleans Saints News
The New Orleans Saints will not have starting running back Travis Etienne Jr. at their disposal for Week 4’s “Monday Night Football” against the Atlanta Falcons. Etienne, who signed a four-year, $48 million free agent deal with New Orleans this offseason, left the game with his hamstring injury in the third quarter of the Saints’ 35-27 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.