The NFL is punishing a Panthers veteran because of him performing an action recently outlawed by the league
The Carolina Panthers ended the year on a high note, own the Atlanta Falcons in Week 18. And to make it even sweeter, they personally knocked their NFC South rivals, the Falcons, out of the NFC playoffs. The season isn't ending on a positive note for everyone in the Panthers locker room, though, with edge rusher […]
The Carolina Panthers ended the year on a high note, own the Atlanta Falcons in Week 18. And to make it even sweeter, they personally knocked their NFC South rivals, the Falcons, out of the NFC playoffs.
The season isn't ending on a positive note for everyone in the Panthers locker room, though, with edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney being punished for a hip drop tackle.
NFL fines Panthers edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney for a hip drop tackle in Week 18 win vs. NFC South rivals the Falcons
One of the rule changes implemented this offseason by the NFL was outlawing the hip-drop tackle. Here is how the NFL defines what a hip-drop tackle is:
"1. Grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms and
2. Unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee."
The rule book states that the act will result in a 15-yard penalty. However, the league believed Clowney's tackle deserved a bit more. The league is fining the Panthers edge rusher $16,883.00. Of the 24 fines handed out from Week 18, Clowney's was tied for the second-most expensive.
Clowney just finished up a season where he appeared in 14 games and recorded 5.5 sacks, 46 total tackles, and nine tackles for loss. His current contract will have him back in Carolina for the 2025 season, so thankfully, this hefty fine most likely won't be his final memory as a Panther.
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