The brawl that ensued on Sunday after a Raiders player took a shot at Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton has resulted in five players getting stiff fines.
Bengals offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth was fined $26,250, and so were four Oakland defensive linemen: Desmond Bryant, Lamarr Houston, Tommy Kelly and Matt Shaughnessy.
The $26,250 fine is the minimum fine for a first offense for fighting under the NFL’s 2012 fine schedule. So the amount of the fine is no surprise, although it is a bit surprising that Bryant and Shaughnessy were fined, as neither of them were flagged on the play.
The fight started when Houston drilled Dalton after a false start. Dalton said afterward that he was pleased to know that he had a teammate in Whitworth who would let opposing defensive linemen know that they couldn’t take a cheap shot at the Bengals’ quarterback and get away with it. Unfortunately for Whitworth, it would violate NFL rules if Dalton were to offer to pay a portion of the fine to show his appreciation.