Cowboys hit with significant punishment for unusual practice infraction

Dec 19, 2021; East Rutherford, N.J., USA;
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy looks on during the second half of their game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-USA TODAY Sports

The Dallas Cowboys have run afoul of NFL offseason practice rules for a second time in as many years.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones revealed Thursday that coach Mike McCarthy was fined $100,000 and the team will lose an organized team activity after the NFL deemed McCarthy’s practices to be too physical. This marks the second time the Cowboys have been sanctioned for such an offense.

For the second straight year Mike McCarthy was fined by the NFL for having practices that were deemed too physical, according to owner Jerry Jones. After being fined $50,000 last year, McCarthy was docked $100,000 and the Cowboys have lost an organized team activity for 2023.

— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) June 16, 2022

Jones probably won’t care, and McCarthy can handle the fine. Still, it’s not common to see a franchise sanctioned for this sort of thing more than once, especially in consecutive offseasons.

McCarthy enters the 2022 season firmly on the hot seat. That probably doesn’t factor into how he runs his practices, but it would make sense for there to be some extra intensity in Dallas camp given where the franchise stands.