Rob Gronkowski will appeal one-game suspension, should probably be in jail
The NFL have suspended New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski one game for violating its "unnecessary roughness" guidelines following his brutally late hit on Bills corner Tre’Davious White Sunday in Buffalo.
The hit seemed to check just about every box, according to NFL VP of Football Operations Jon Runyan. In a league release, Runyan tells Gronkowski:
"Your actions were not incidental, could have been avoided and placed the opposing player at risk of serious injury. The Competition Committee has clearly expressed its goal of 'eliminating flagrant hits that have no place in our game.' Those hits include the play you were involved in yesterday"
Rob Gronkowski has been suspended for 1 game for violation of unnecessary roughness rules pic.twitter.com/ySlimskMdh
— Michael Signora (@NFLfootballinfo) December 4, 2017
The suspension puts Gronk on the shelf for Week 14, making him ineligible for Dec. 11's Monday Night Football divisional matchup against the Miami Dolphins.
If the Twitter mob and your indeterminately reliable eyesight are any guide, a single game would seem pretty light here. Gronk doesn't have a checkered history, but we've seen ejections for far less.
In a bit of a surprise to anyone not named Ian Rapoport, Gronk will apparently be looking to appeal. Worth a shot, I guess.
#Patriots TE Rob Gronkowski will appeal his 1-game suspension, source said. No surprise.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) December 4, 2017
The suspension hits Gronk pretty hard in the wallet, but tell that to White as he sits in concussion protocol.
A 1 game suspension will cost Gronk a $250k game check, a $31,250 game-day roster bonus, and will make it that much tougher to reach his $5.5 million incentive level (90 percent of snaps, OR 80 catches, OR 1,200 yards, OR 14 touchdowns)
— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) December 4, 2017
