The Green Bay Packers didn’t have much fun during their 2026 season opener.
They were defeated by the division rival Minnesota Vikings 39-22 despite jumping out to a 22-10 lead. It was the latest in several blown leads dating back to last season. For safety Evan Williams, the NFL has added insult to injury.
Green Bay Packers S Evan Williams Fine for Unnecessary Roughness vs. Minnesota Vikings
On Saturday the NFL released the list of players that they fined for various violations in Week 1. Among them was Evans, who has been fined $7,087 for a hit on a defenseless player under the category of unnecessary roughness.
Lukas Van Ness: $17,911 for a hit on the QB — but apparently not the one on Kyler Murray. According to the NFL it was for a third-quarter hit on Carson Wentz.
Evan Williams: $7,087 for a hit on a defenseless player.
The player that Williams hit was wide receiver Justin Jefferson, and Williams was penalized on the play — which occurred late in the second quarter. That drive eventually resulted in a touchdown for Minnesota, though the Packers would respond with a touchdown of their own to close out the half.
The unnecessary roughness category is one of the five that the NFL and NFLPA have designated as counting toward a suspension. Three fouls in any one category will result in a one-game suspension. Players can always appeal fines, but it doesn’t often work out in their favor.
Evan Williams Has Already Sounded off Against the NFL This Week
Williams was fired up on Wednesday about a drive where the Packers had three penalties, which resulted in a Vikings touchdown. That swung the momentum heavily in Minnesota’s favor, leading to a loss for Green Bay. Williams complained about the lack of consistency on both sides in regards to penalties.
“We’re definitely looking for some elements of consistency,” Williams said. “It definitely helps us as players to kind of get a feel for what the refs are calling that day, what they’re trying to emphasize, and that’s fine. So, if you’re gonna call holding, call it both ways in that type of aggressive aspect. But yeah, there were some tough ones for sure on a couple drives that made you scratch your head.”
Being the leader that he is, Williams acknowledged that the Packers can’t allow games to come down to being determined by the referees, and the defense has to make stops during crucial moments of games.
“I’m not trying to get into any trouble with any authority figures,” Williams said. “But nah, man, it was just an unfortunate circumstance that we kind of kept putting it in the refs’ hands to change the game for that drive, and, yeah, couldn’t get off the field and get the stops when we needed.”
NFL Hits Evan Williams’ Pocketbook After Week 1 Incident