Grady Jarrett and Tom Brady (Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
The NFL is reportedly reviewing whether
Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady should be fined for
apparently trying to kick Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady
Jarrett during the teams’ Week 5 game.
Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press
reported Friday the NFL is working to determine whether it was an
intentional act. Brady could face a $10,500 fine for a first-time
kicking offense.
Jarrett was flagged for roughing the
passer on the fourth-quarter play, a highly controversial call, and
video from the incident shows Brady kicking his leg toward the
Falcons defender. It’s unclear if he makes contact.
The play in question happened with
three minutes left in the final quarter Sunday and the Falcons
trailing 21-15. On third down, Jarrett wrapped up Brady and took him
down for a 10-yard sack, which would have forced a Bucs punt and a
chance at a comeback win for Atlanta.
Instead, a flag was thrown for roughing
the passer, which referee Jerome Boger described as Jarrett
“unnecessarily throwing him to the ground.” It was the
latest in a recent trend of questionable penalty calls for roughing
the passer.
Jarrett said Tuesday on 680 The Fan in
Atlanta (via ESPN’s Michael Rothstein) he remained in “disbelief” about the game-changing call—the Bucs were able to run out the
clock to secure the win—and also stated he spoke with officials
about Brady’s kicking motion.
“‘Look, you see him now. Let’s
clean it up.’ You know what I’m saying? And then it happened again at
the end of the game,” he said. “I’m like, ‘So, we going to let
this slide?'”
Brady, who simply stated “I don’t
throw flags” after Sunday’s game, expanded on his thoughts about
the play Monday on his Let’s Go! podcast (via Kevin Patra of
NFL.com).
“It was a long hug, a long
unwelcome hug from Grady,” the 15-time Pro Bowler said. “And
he was in the backfield all day. So as I said after the games, I
don’t throw flags. What I do throw is tablets, and I didn’t have one
accessible at that time. He had a hell of a game. I’ll leave it at
that.”
The Buccaneers quarterback didn’t make
any reference to the apparent kick.
Brady was previously fined $10,000 for
kicking legendary Baltimore Ravens safety Ed Reed in 2013, per
Spotrac. It’s the only on-field fine of his career.
Tampa Bay and Atlanta will face off
again in Week 18 to wrap up the regular season.
This week, the Bucs travel to Acrisure
Stadium to face off with the Pittsburgh Steelers, while the Falcons
host the San Francisco 49ers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Both games are
1 p.m. ET kickoffs Sunday.