Falcons’ Smith Fined $25,000

Atlanta Falcon defensive end Chuck Smith has been fined $25,000 by the NFL for his third-quarter tackle of Carolina Panther quarterback Kerry Collins during last Sunday’s game.

Collins was hit from behind in his left knee by Smith and forced from the game.

Smith said he spoke with NFL director of football development Gene Washington on Tuesday and received written notice of the fine Wednesday.

In the notice, Washington said that $10,000 of the fine would be returned to Smith if there are no further incidents. But he also threatened Smith with suspension for additional infractions.

The fine was so severe because the hit on Collins was viewed as a second offense.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution said it confirmed with league spokesman Greg Aiello that Smith was fined $7,500 for a similar hit on Troy Aikman during the Oct. 20 game against Dallas and that Smith has been threatened with a five-year suspension for further incidents.

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For the past month, Marc Boutte and Sterling Palmer have competed in the Washington Redskins’ training room to see which defensive lineman could recover from injury first.

While neither player is 100% sound after arthroscopic knee surgery, both will start Sunday against the Arizona Cardinals.

Another defensive lineman, backup Tony Woods, will probably sit out Sunday’s game because of a knee injury.