Kareem Jackson of the Denver Broncos is safely back in the doghouse.
Jackson was suspended for four games on Monday for his hit on Minnesota Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs in Sunday’s win.
This is Jackson’s second suspension in recent months, and the NFL appears to have given him a hard time for the incident, which occurred two minutes into the game.
The safety, in his fifth season with the Broncos, lowered his helmet to deliver a hit to Dobbs, who was lined up to play as a running back.
This was Jackson’s first tackle since returning from his previous suspension.
Jackson will be suspended without pay, but plans to appeal. According to ESPN.
Jackson was notified of his suspension by NFL Vice President of Football Operations John Runyan.
“With 13:38 remaining in the first quarter, you engaged in a play that the league considers to be a serious violation of the Playing Rules,” Runyan wrote in a letter to Jackson. “Video of the play shows you lowered your head and made forceful contact with Vikings quarterback Josh Dobbs. The path to your opponent was unobstructed and illegal contact could not be avoided. It should have been.
“Flagrant misconduct does not jeopardize player safety. The league will continue to emphasize enforcement of rules prohibiting the use of helmets to make forcible contact with opponents. In the play in question, you lowered your head and delivered a hard blow to the shoulder and head/neck area of your opponent when you had time and space to avoid contact. You could have made contact with your opponent within the rules. I should have, but I chose not to.”
No penalties were assessed for the play during the game.
and Jackson told Denver7. Asked after the game if he was worried about the possibility of being suspended by the league, he said, “I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
But Jackson has a bit of a history with player safety this season.
He was suspended for four games earlier this year for a hit on Green Bay Packers tight end Luke Musgrave, but the penalty was reduced to two games on appeal.
This year, he was fined four times for unnecessary roughness and was sent off from two games.
Jackson has a bit of a reputation for being a dirty player, and his teammates are pushing back.
Following Monday’s suspension announcement, teammate Justin Simmons defended Jackson on social media.
“This is unbelievable. Dobbs was a running back on this play.” Simmons wrote about X. “The tight end was under center and snapped the ball and threw it back to Dobbs, who wasn’t defenseless. How do you stop the runner from falling forward when you’re competing for 3rd and 1 yard?”
