The NFL announces on a weekly basis all fines for on-field, in-game rules violations by players. The NFL doesn’t announce other fines imposed on players, including whether a player was fined for criticizing officials.
Per a source with knowledge of the situation, the league did not fine Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers for criticizing officials in the aftermath of a Week 6 Monday night loss to the Bills.
“It seemed a little ridiculous,” Rodgers said in his press conference about a game that featured 22 penalties. “Yeah, some of them seemed really bad. Including the roughing the passer on me. That’s not roughing the passer. Might as well play Sarcastaball if we’re gonna call those things. And I thought the one on [Jets defensive tackle Javon] Kinlaw was not roughing the passer, either.”
Rodgers also said that a Jets touchdown by rookie running back Braelon Allen was wiped out by a “phantom holding call.”
Last December, the NFL fined Browns defensive end Myles Garrett $25,000 for criticizing officials after a win over the Jaguars.
“The officiating was a travesty today,” Garrett said at the time. “It was honestly awful. And the fact that they’re letting them get away with hands to the face, holding, false starting — I know they called a couple, but damn, they could have called it all game. . . .
“I mean, respect to those guys, it’s a hard job, but hell, we have a hard job as well. You can’t make it harder by throwing holding and hands to the face out the rulebook. And like I said, I got a lot of respect for those guys, but we get scrutinized for the plays that we don’t make. So someone has to hold them accountable for the plays or the calls they don’t make. And they need to be under the same kind of microscope as we are every single play.”
It’s unclear where the line is. Garrett, however, was on the wrong side of it. Rodgers stayed on the right side of it. Assuming that there even is a line that gets applied fairly and consistently.
