Bears' Jon Bostic reportedly fined $21K for hit on Chargers wide receiver Mike Willie
Bears rookie Jon Bostic was reportedly fined $21,000 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on the Chargers' Mike Willie. (Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)
Chicago Bears rookie linebacker Jon Bostic was reportedly fined $21,000 by the NFL on Wednesday for his hit on San Diego Chargers wide receiver Mike Willie, according to Jeff Dickerson of ESPNChicago.com.
The league has yet to confirm the fine, but in addition to Dickerson citing a source that said it's been handed down, NFL.com's Ian Rapaport said the NFL will be fining him, and Bears linebacker Lance Briggs tweeted a "shaking my head moment" Wednesday, saying that Bostic has been fined $21,000 by the NFL for the "clean hit."
The hit came Aug. 15 during the Bears' 33-28 home win over the Chargers, when Bostic lowered his head and made contact with a defenseless player's body, which is not a violation of the "crown of the helmet rule," according to the report, even though there appears to be helmet-to-helmet contact. The pass ended up being ruled incomplete, and the 22-year-old Bostic, a former Florida Gator, was not flagged on the play. According to an NFL instructional video shown to players before the season, there are three pieces of criteria for qualifying a player as having violated the "crown" rule, according to the NFL Communications Department:
"First, the player must line up his opponent. Second, he must lower his head. And third, he must deliver a forcible blow with the crown of his helmet to any part of his opponent’s body."
Bears defensive end Corey Wootton told the Chicago Tribune the hit looked "Lance Briggs-esque."
"Kind of looked Lance Briggs-esque. Everyone was saying, 'That's mini Lance over there.' It was a heck of a hit by him. He has been having a great preseason. He’s been great so far."
Bostic, who is making $405,000 in his first year in the league, can appeal the fine.
https://twitter.com/LanceBriggs/statuses/370157547899998209
Footage of the play:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdV7TGyJ7jo
