Dolphins' DeShon Elliott fined $53,542 for two hits that weren't flagged
Dolphins safety DeShon Elliott was not flagged during Sunday's game against the Patriots, but the league office hammered him after the fact.
The NFL has fined Elliott a total of $53,542 for two hits during the game, neither of which was called a penalty on the field.
One fine was $43,709 for unnecessary roughness in the second quarter, and another was $9,833 for unnecessary roughness in the third quarter. It's unclear why the fine for the second quarter hit was so much more than the fine for the third quarter hit.
The NFL routinely fines players for infractions that weren't flagged. The officials can't see everything, but the frequency with which players get significant fines for hits that the officials didn't see as penalties at all calls into question whether the on-field officials and the league's disciplinary department are on the same page.
One of the hits Elliott was fined for gave Patriots wide receiver DeVante Parker a concussion, and Parker will miss this week's game as a result. Oddly, that was the hit that got the lesser fine. The bigger fine was for a tackle of Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson, on which Elliott actually seemed to bear the brunt of the hit.
