The NFL has suspended Detroit Lions defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh for a game for stepping on the calf and ankle of Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers on Sunday.
The play looked accidental at first — until Suh stepped on Rodgers' injured leg a second time. Rodgers retaliated with a push to Suh and a plea to referee Walt Anderson. Rodgers said after the game Anderson told him that Suh said he was pushed into Rodgers after the play.
That means Suh will miss the Lions' playoff game against the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday. A free agent after the season with an unwieldy salary-cap number, Suh might have played his final game as a Lion.
Suh has a history — seven documented incidents — in the NFL with dirty play on the field, including his more pronounced stomp on former Packers center Evan Dietrich-Smith. Rodgers would not blame Suh directly but clearly was annoyed that it occured in an area of his leg he injured in Week 16 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, then aggravated earlier in the Lions game Sunday.
Packers head coach Mike McCarthy was not happy about the play after the game.
"I didn’t see it live, I didn’t see it on the JumboTron, but from what I’m told, I’m told it was ridiculous," a McCarthy said. "There’s no place for that, so that’s where I’m at with it. I don’t understand it, frankly."
Suh can appeal his case to Ted Cottrell, the league's arbiter, but likely doesn't stand a great chance of having it overturned.
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