NFL fines Saints' Khristian Boyd $4,600 for hit on Eagles' DeVonta Smith, per report

The NFL fined New Orleans Saints rookie defensive tackle Khristian Boyd $4,600 for his hit on Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver DeVonta Smith in Week 3, per nola.com . Boyd was not penalized for the hit, which knocked out Smith and forced him out of the game with a concussion, as the officials were late to blow the whistle.

Per the NFL, a hit on a defenseless player can draw a fine up to $16,883 for first-time offenders. The league's collective bargaining agreement states "no first offense may result in the imposition of a baseline fine in excess of 10% of a player's Salary Cap Count for the game" for mitigating factors. Boyd's salary cap number is just over $839,000, hence the fine amount.

Smith was a non-participant in Wednesday's Eagles practice and needs to clear concussion protocol in order to play Sunday.

Several Eagles were not happy over the Smith hit , sounding off over the play that knocked him out of the game.

"I'd seen him [knocked] out, and that's when I waved to the training staff, like he's out cold. It was scary," offensive tackle Fred Johnson , who filled in for Lane Johnson in the second half, said. "You never want to see (something) like that, especially on a play where he catches the ball, and he's running backwards for like five steps.

"It's on the refs to call that play dead, and take the necessary action when he's hit late," Fred Johnson said. "DeVonta's size, and so a lineman hitting him after five steps of him catching the ball, it's unprofessional. They're going to look at it and see that they need to take necessary actions."

Boyd reached out on Instagram wishing Smith well. Boyd said he would never "deliberately try to give someone a serious injury."

"Man, that's the dirtiest shit I ever saw in football, bro," C.J. Gardner-Johnson said. "Y'all obviously saw that forward progression was stopped. And for them to take a cheap shot on one of our key guys, it shows what kind of team that is. They're front-runners."