Bengals safety Shawn Williams fined for hit on Andrew Luck that led to ejection
Cincinnati Bengals safety Shawn Williams was fined $10,026 on Friday for his hit on Andrew Luck in the Bengals’ season opener last week.
Williams was ejected from the game after hitting the Indianapolis Colts quarterback in the head. The play was first called as unnecessary roughness, but a review changed the call to fall under the NFL’s new illegal use of helmet rule — which sparked the ejection.
The 27-year-old insisted he was attempting to tackle Luck properly. The NFL, it appears, feels differently.
“If you guys have any suggestions on what I can do to not get a flag and still do my job, then let me know,” Williams told the Cincinnati Enquirer this week. “I don’t know if they want you to know what Andrew Luck is going to do. I don’t know what he’s going to do. If it was up to me he should slide and give himself up earlier, but he didn’t.”
The NFL has put a bigger emphasis this season on protecting players from hits where players lead with the helmet.
Williams returned on Thursday night in Cincinnati’s 34-23 win over the Baltimore Ravens, and recorded eight tackles, one sack and one interception.
Marcus Peters’ larger celebration fine
Strangely, though, Williams was fined less than Los Angeles Rams cornerback Marcus Peters, who was fined for his goal-line grab on Monday against the Oakland Raiders.
Peters was fined $13,000 by the NFL on Friday for grabbing his crotch during a backward dive into the end zone after completing a 50-yard pick-six in the 33-13 win. The celebration was a homage to Raiders running back Marshawn Lynch, who often breaks out that move, and his hometown of Oakland, where the game was being played.
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