Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has been faced with a lot of scrutiny throughout the league for the controversial block he put on Minnesota Vikings center John Sullivan during Detroit's 34-24 Week 1 victory over Minnesota, and the NFL has given Suh $100,000 reasons to regret what he's done.
CBS Sports reports that the league has decided to punish Suh with the large fine, and he won't receive a suspension for the hit. Suh is a repeat offender and has displayed many violent and malicious infractions on the field in his career.
Suh's hit can be seen here.
The rulebook indicates that a second-time offense for a "blindside block" usually calls for a $20,000-to-$40,000 fine, but given Suh's history it has proven to be more costly for him.
Reports on Monday indicated that the NFL wasn't sure whether to suspend or fine Suh and were mulling a decision. NFL VP Ray Anderson said on Monday that the league was weighing many different options on how to punish Suh.
"All options are on the table with a repeat offender," Anderson told The Detroit Free Press Monday. "You can honestly say it's being reviewed for either a fine and/or a suspension, given his repeat-offender status.
The NFL decided to not make Suh pay by banning him from games, but the league sure is trying to hit him in his wallet, though a CBS Sports breakdown of the fine compared to Suh's game-by-game salary indicates that the tackle will only be losing about three game checks. CBS Sports reports that Suh makes over $37,000 per game.
Suh was adamant after Sunday's game that he wasn't trying to take out Sullivan's knees and was going for his waist, but the video shows Suh hitting a completely blind-sided Sullivan in the knees.
"By any means, I'm not going for his knees," Suh said following the game per CBS Sports. "He knows that. We had a great conversation running out at halftime. And he understood. My aim was his waist, to cut him off."
Lions head coach Jim Schwartz stood by his player's reasoning after the game.
"What he explained to me was he didn't want to hit him high because if he hits him in the head right there that's a peel-back (block) and that's a penalty also, and he was trying to hit him at the waist and ended up in a bad spot and went low," Schwartz told CBS Sports.
Whether or not Suh and Schwartz believe he's innocent, the NFL apparently thinks that the punishment is worth$100,000 and while Suh can claim his innoncense all he wants, he still has to pay it.
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