Deshazor Everett Receives $48,000 In Fines For Hits On Celek, Sproles
The Washington Redskins dodged a bullet earlier in the week when safety Deshazor Everett avoided a suspension for a couple of big hit. He is going to pay the price though, and it is a hefty one.
According to Josh Alper from Pro Football Talk, the Washington Redskins had one player fined heftily for his role in some hits this past Sunday. Safety Deshazor Everett was fined north of $48,000 for a couple of hits that he put on Brent Celek and Darren Sproles. The two fines were handed down by the NFL earlier in the week. Everett will appeal the fines.
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Though the amount may seem egregious, Everett definitely deserved to get some sort of fines for the hits. The more noted hit was the one on Sproles, and I described it in an article earlier this week:
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On a punt in the fourth quarter, Everett came screaming down the field in his role as a gunner. He was heading straight for return man Darren Sproles. The long-time returner and pass-catching back positioned himself under the ball and was ready to receive it. Then, Everett arrived and put a deafening helmet-to-helmet shot on Sproles that echoed throughout the whole stadium. He had beaten the ball by a split second, and Sproles took a brutal hit as a result.
It would later be confirmed that Sproles had suffered a concussion. Many have been accusing Everett of playing dirty, myself included. It seemed that there was no conscious effort to stop from the special teams ace. He knew he was going to hit Sproles with the force of a freight train, and he frankly did not care. Even if Sproles had the ball, it probably would have hurt him. This was not a football play. It was a vicious hit.
Obviously, I was not a fan of the hit, but I understand that arguments that it was a bad timing play. Still, Everett had to be fined because of the NFL’s efforts to increase player safety. It is necessary for the league to protect their players.
Also complicating matters was the fact that Everett had put a late hit on Celek earlier in the game. On a separate punt, Everett hit Celek from behind after the whistle had blown, and that knocked the tight end out of the game with a stinger. That was the less egregious of the two hits, and in a normal circumstance, Everett may not have been fined for that hit. However, the NFL probably wanted to make an example of him after the hit he put on Sproles.
Overall, this is bad news for Everett, who is making just over $500K this year, but it is not the worst that could have happened. He can go through the appeals process and then move on after that. It should not impact the safety long term, so long as he does not become a repeat offender in terms of big hits.
