New Orleans Saints defensive end Wes Horton received an unwelcome notice from the NFL on Monday. Amie Just of The Advocate reported that Horton was fined $21,056 for unnecessary roughness by the league office, stemming from a low hit to Los Angeles Chargers quarterback Cardale Jones during last week’s preseason game. Horton was also penalized during the game.
That’s a sizable fine for Horton, who is playing for the Saints on something close to the veteran’s minimum (the terms have not been disclosed). He spent the first five years of his NFL career with the Carolina Panthers, with an average annual salary of $864,824. The veteran’s minimum for a player with Horton’s experience is $805,000 in 2019. In other words, that one illegal hit cost Horton nearly half of a regular-season game check ($47,352).
Fortunately, that was something of an outlier for Horton. He doesn’t have a history of dirty play, and he wasn’t fouled for any similar hits in the following week against the New York Jets. Hopefully he’ll keep it clean moving forwards as he works to earn a spot on the opening-day roster.
