The Seattle Seahawks were once again penalized for violating NFL-NFL Players Association rules that prohibit excessive contact in all offseason workouts.
On Monday the NFL announced the team will be fined $400,000 and will forfeit its first week of 2017 organized team activities (three OTA days). Seattle will also forfeit its fifth-round selection in the 2017 draft. Coach Pete Carroll will be fined $200,000.
The NFL and NFLPA independently reviewed the Seahawks' June 6 on-field practice video and agreed the team violated the "no-live-contact" rule of the collective bargaining agreement. Seahawks coach Pete Carroll shed some light on the violation, telling reporters Monday the penalties were related to two helmet-less players who "banged heads" and got injured during OTAs.
"I've got to do a better job," Carroll said. "We got to make sure we're toeing the line ... we still didn't quite meet the standards the (NFL) wants."
The rule restricting excessive on-field physical contact during OTAs was put in place to enhance player safety by limiting contact during offseason workouts as well as an attempt to prevent teams from gaining a competitive advantage during summer months.
Seattle was previously fined $300,000 in 2014 and docked OTA sessions in 2012 for violating the non-contact rules. Carroll said the team's previous violations probably led to more severe penalties being issued Monday.
The NFL also noted in its announcement that any additional violations by the club will likely result in "significantly higher fines, the cancellation of future OTA days, minicamp days, preseason or regular season practices, as well as the forfeiture of higher-round or multiple draft selections."
For a team that consistently finds diamonds in the rough late in the draft, the forfeiture of a fifth-round pick will sting Carroll and general manager John Schneider.