Vince Wilfork Will Be Fined, Not Suspended

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After a heart-to-heart with NFL commissioner Roger Goodell about a hit on Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler, it was announced today that New England Patriots defensive tackle Vince Wilfork will not be suspended by the league. But he will be fined. We’ll have to wait until Friday to find out the exact amount, but Vince seemed pretty satisfied with the outcome:

“I think both sides were happy. He got a chance to hear my side of my story of how I approach the game. I got a chance to hear what he had to say about the whole situation of my past history and playing football. So I think we both left pretty happy.”

The only reason Vince was sent to the commissioner’s office was because of his history of unruly on-field behavior. Vince was fined a total of $35,000 last season for four different incidents — hits on Buffalo Bills quarterback J.P. Losman (a cheap shot) and Dallas Cowboys tight end Jason Witten (after the whistle). Plus, he poked New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs in the eye during a not-so-friendly conversation and tackled then-San Diego Chargers running back Michael Turner by his facemask during the AFC Championship Game.

I don’t consider Vince a dirty player. His aggression sometimes gets a little out of control. I know the hit on Jay was not as big a deal as it was initially made out to be by the Broncos. I mean, it was an elbow to the head but I don’t think there was an intent to hurt Jay and Vince even helped him up and patted him on the back afterward. I think this was the right call. Vince didn’t deserve to be suspended and he wasn’t.

Source: Boston Herald, Photo: Newscom