Buffalo Player Suspended for Postgame Punch

The NFL determined that Bobby Hart, who played briefly for the Titans in 2021, took a swing at a player but struck one of Tennessee's coaches.

Jim Dedmon/USA Today Sports

It is not immediately clear whether Bobby Hart’s brief time with the Tennessee Titans last season engendered some hard feelings or whether something happened during Monday night’s game in which Hart’s current team, the Buffalo Bills, whipped the Titans 41-7.

Either way, the veteran offensive lineman was not happy.

The NFL suspended Hart, who is 6-foot-5, 310 pounds, for one game without pay on Tuesday after it determined that he attempted to strike a Titans player but instead landed a blow to the head of a Tennessee coach. Neither the player he intended to hit nor the coach he did strike was named in an official release from the league.

The release included the following excerpt from Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan’s letter to Hart:

“As both teams were heading to the tunnel, you walked directly across the field to seek out your opponent. You approached him near the end zone and a coach had to hold you back as others shook hands. Once you and your opponent were in the end zone near the tunnel, you confronted him and immediately swung at him with a closed fist, striking the head of a Tennessee coach. Your aggressive conduct could have caused serious injury and clearly does not reflect the high standards of sportsmanship expected of a professional.”

The Titans signed Hart on Oct. 20, 2021 in response to injury issues along the offensive line. They released him in November and put him on their practice squad only to have Buffalo sign him to its active roster days later.

During his brief time in Tennessee, he appeared in three games, the last of which was a 28-16 victory over the Los Angeles Rams on Nov. 7. Hart started in place of Taylor Lewan at left tackle and played every snap in that game against the eventual Super Bowl champions.

A seventh-round pick by the New York Giants in 2015, Hart has played 85 games for four teams with 65 starts in his career.

Against the Titans on Monday, he was on the field for 17 snaps on offense and seven others on special teams.