Lions WR Fined for Punching Commanders Defender

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown received a fine for actions in the team’s Week 10 win over the Washington Commanders.

St. Brown was fined $12,172 for striking Commanders defensive lineman Daron Payne in the first quarter of the Lions’ 44-22 win. The wideout finished the game with five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown.

Payne was ejected from the game and subsequently suspended for one game when he punched St. Brown following the Lions’ touchdown later in the drive. 

The wideout was not penalized during the game, and footage of St. Brown’s swipe at Payne didn’t surface until Commanders defender Javon Kinlaw posted the video earlier this week. 

On the podcast that he hosts weekly with his brother Equanimeous, St. Brown explained the incidents that occurred as tensions rose early in the game. 

As the fifth-year wideout puts it, he was bumped by Payne while trying to get up after being taken to the ground by Commanders defensive back Quan Martin.

“I’m like ‘What the f**k?’so I hit (Payne) and he starts talking s**t,” St. Brown said. “And then I hit him again, and I accidentally hit him in — I didn’t even mean to jab him in the face, I just mean to like push him off, and it so happened that I hit him in the face. And at that point I was like ‘Damn, I shouldn’t have done that.’ Probably a flag, whatever. Ref was standing right there. He didn’t throw the flag, so that’s that.”