NFL Announces Triple Punishment for Detroit Lions
The Detroit Lions may have won in Week 12 against the New York Giants, but it wasn't all positive for them.
Detroit took down the Giants, 34-27 in overtime, with Jared Goff throwing for 279 yards and two touchdowns on 28-of-42 passing. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs also had two rushing touchdowns and a receiving score in the victory.
However, the team had plenty of violations during the contest, which the NFL has decided to punish.
In its Week 12 update for gameday accountability, the NFL fined three Lions players for their actions. Safety Brian Branch received the costliest punishment; he was fined $23,186 for unnecessary roughness after hitting a defenseless player.
Linebacker Jack Campbell was slapped with a $17,389 fine for unnecessary roughness as well, this time for a hip-drop tackle.
Lastly, the NFL hit offensive tackle Dan Skipper with a $6,917 fine for taunting, which the league deemed unsportsmanlike conduct.
Branch's fine is particularly noteworthy because it's the second straight week in which he has been punished. In Week 11, he received an $11,599 fine for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Philadelphia Eagles receiver Jahan Dotson. That made his Week 12 penalty a second offense this season, increasing the fine amount.
According to Mike Payton of A to Z Sports, the NFL's latest decision involving Branch has increased his total career fines to $164,744. Branch is just in his third season in the NFL after being selected 45th overall in the 2023 NFL Draft. He has not even reached 50 games in his career.
It remains to be seen if Branch or the other Lions players who were fined will appeal the punishment. Nevertheless, they will need to be careful with their actions moving forward since repeated violations carry a higher fine.
Detroit (7-5), which fell 31-24 to the Green Bay Packers on Thanksgiving Day, squares off at home against the Dallas Cowboys (6-5-1) at 8:15 p.m. ET Thursday on Amazon Prime Video.
Why the Seahawks need to kick tires on top-ranked 2026 NFL free agent
There are not a whole lot of weaknesses for this Seattle Seahawks roster. In fact, none come to mind when you're looking at head coach Mike Macdonald's loaded and deep defense.
Offensively they're pretty stacked as well, but there are a couple of spots up front that could still use an upgrade. Seattle plugged one of those holes by drafting left guard Gray Zabel, but center and right guard remain problematic more often than not.
One way to meet that need would be to go against type and take a big swing in free agency for a starting interior lineman. Specifically, the Seahawks should be looking to pursue Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum, whos been ranked the No. 1 free agent to be in 2026 by Sportsnaut.
"Baltimore Ravens center Tyler Linderbaum is our top player in NFL free agency next offseason. He’ll be turning 26 years old next April and is poised to earn his third consecutive Pro Bowl selection... In 2024, Linderbaum ranked 13th among all interior linemen in ESPN pass block win rate (95 percent), and he’s sixth in PBWR (96 percent) this season."
Linderbaum would not only be a huge upgrade over either Jalen Sundell or Olu Oluwatimi, he has a connection with Macdonald, who was the Ravens' defensive coordinator for two years before taking the Seattle job.
Evaluating offensive linemen is a subjective business, but ESPN isn't the only fan of Linderbaum's work. Pro Football Focus currently has him ranked sixth at his position.
Meanwhile, Sundell is ranked 26th and Oluwatimi has not played enough snaps to qualify yet.
Linderbaum is a solid pass protector, but his super-power is his run blocking, which would help enable what the Seahawks are trying to do offensively - and also struggling at the most.
There have been positive steps over the last three games from Ken Walker and Zach Charbonnet, but Seattle still only ranks 16th in rushing yards per game despite running at a higher rate than any other team in the league.
Adding Linderbaum to the mix would give the Seahawks just the right mix of youth and experience at a position that's been a problem ever since the inadvisable Max Unger trade. If they're going to swing for anybody in free agency next year, it should be him.
