Once again, a hit delivered by Chicago Bears rookie linebacker Jon Bostic is under heavy NFL scrutiny.
Bostic faces league discipline for a hit he delivered on Detroit Lions receiver Kris Durham where it appears the wideout is defenselessly laying on the ground following an onside kick in the Lions 40-32 victory.
"I did not see it, I really didn't see it," Bears coach Marc Trestman said of Bostic's play on Durham. "I haven't heard about it and I haven't heard from the league about it. We'll see what happens the next couple days."
Like in the case of the hit he delivered on San Diego receiver Mike Willie in a preseason game that eventually ended in him being fined $21,000, Bostic was not penalized by officials for the hit he delivered on Durham.
"He took a big shot for us," said Lions coach Jim Schwartz. "We talk a lot about player safety and he's lying prone on the ground and is getting himself up and takes a helmet right to the back and we don't get any call there. It's a little hypocritical to talk about player safety when we allow that to not get called. Kris toughed it out, and he had to hold onto that ball and he did. He did a nice job today"
The end result is the 6-foot-1, 245 lb. Bostic is quickly establishing a reputation as one of the game's biggest hitters. NFL officials cited a rule involving the "lowering of the head and making forcible contact with a defenseless player's body" when fining him for laying out Willie.
Still, Bostic may want to be prudent in going about performing the duties of his job. The Florida rookie is scheduled to earn a $405,000 base salary this season, in addition to a $1,246,036 signing bonus. But the fine imposed on him for the Willie hit resulted in the loss of an entire game check.
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