Washington linebacker Jon Bostic delivered a brutal, illegal hit to Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton that caused a concussion which forced Dalton to miss the rest of that game and two more games after that. The NFL fined Bostic a mere $12,000 for the hit.
Dalton was surprised by that.
As he prepares to return to the field this week, Dalton said he was expecting the NFL to come down harder on Bostic.
“I was a little bit surprised by the number, but it is what it is,” Dalton said, via Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News.
Bostic easily could have been suspended for the hit, which would have cost him a game check, which is more than $56,000 in salary. If the NFL wasn’t going to suspend him, a fine close to that amount would have seemed to be in order. Instead, the league let Bostic off with a relative slap on the wrist.