The NFL has fined San Francisco 49ers cornerback Deommodore Lenoir $20,944 for head-butting Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba in their divisional-round playoff game.
Tempers flared in this emotional rivalry game, and Lenoir let his get the best of him as the Seahawks dismantled the 49ers 41-6 to advance to the NFC championship game. The incident happened following a play where the two exchanged words before Lenoir used his helmet illegally and smashed his head into Smith-Njigba’s facemask.
Lenoir, who’s one of the more physical cornerbacks in the NFL, has a history of being fined since entering the league in 2021 as a fifth-round draft pick for San Francisco. In December, Lenoir was fined for a late hit on Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor in the Niners’ win over the Colts. For that infraction, Lenoir was fined $11,593 by the league.
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Niners linebacker Dee Winters was also fined $5,097 for a hip-drop tackle during the Seahawks playoff game.
Smith-Njigba and Lenoir’s confrontation can be traced back to the Week 18 meeting between these teams, where there was some trash talk leading up to the game. Lenoir was called a “fan” by Smith-Njigba.
“I definitely heard it. It’s hard to respond back to all my fans,” Smith-Njigba told reporters following Seattle’s 13-3 win.
In November of 2024, Lenoir signed a five-year, $92 million extension with the 49ers. He just completed his fifth season with the team, starting all 17 games and recording 61 tackles, 4 tackles for loss and 2 interceptions.
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