Details are still coming in as to the full discipline the NFL is handing out to the Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns after the fight at the end of Thursday night’s game. We know the suspensions for the key players as well as fines for each team. But in the coming days, don’t be surprised if there are more fines handed out once the NFL has a chance to pour over the full video.
Here are three big takeaways from the discipline rulings.
The NFL sent a message with the Garrett suspension
As soon as the fight happened, social media exploded with the outcry to ban Garrett for the season. I honestly never thought the league would actually do it. There is a precedent for this type of activity but it’s never carried this type of punishment. The reason this one was so extreme? He did it to a quarterback.
Larry Ogunjobi should have gotten two games
What Ogunjobi did was cowardly. Well after the fight had moved away from Rudolph, the 305-pound defensive tackle came out of nowhere to cheapshot Rudolph in the back. He then lied after the game about why he did it but was only suspended for one game. If the NFL had been thinking they’d have suspended him two games so he isn’t on the field when the Steelers and Browns play again in two weeks.
Maurkice Pouncey is the real hero
Pouncey’s part in the fight earned him a three-game suspension and he accepted it with pride. The man went to war for his quarterback and wasn’t going to let what Garrett did go unpunished. If teammate David DeCastro hadn’t been laying on Garrett at the time it probably would have ended a lot worse for Garrett.
