NFL star accused of trying to tear opponent's ACL
Jaguars center Ryan Linder was still steaming several minutes after Sunday’s 30-24 win over the Seahawks at EverBank Field.
Who could blame him?
"F— y’all!," Linder screamed in the direction of Seattle players as he entered the Jacksonville locker room. "Y'all are b—es!"
Linder’s profane outburst stemmed from an altercation spurred by Seattle’s decision to attack Jacksonville’s victory formation.
With the game in hand and 54 seconds remaining, Jaguars quarterback Blake Bortles was in the process of taking a knee when two Seahawks defensive linemen tried crashing into him as a third (Michael Bennett) dove at Linder’s knees.
After Linder wrestled his way up to a standing position, Bennett responded by rolling into his legs trying to knock him back down — a manoeuvre known to cause lower-leg injuries.
Many accused Bennett of trying to tear Linder's ACL.
Michael Bennett should be out a game at least for what he did there. Could have torn Brandon Linder's ACL. That's dangerous. That's garbage. And he should miss games for it. Absolutely no place in the game for that. That's worse than a punk move. Cowardly BS.
— Peter Bukowski (@Peter_Bukowski) December 11, 2017
Sorry to keep bringing this up, but if Michael Bennett isn't suspended without pay for eight months (About the time it takes to fully recover from a torn ACL) the NFL will prove once again it doesn't care about player safety.
— Will Helms (@whelms21) December 11, 2017
That’s the second time Michael Bennett has tried to take out an OL’s ACL in victory formation. Did the exact same thing to Alex Mack. Legit POS.
— Patriots SB52 (@PatriotsSB49) December 11, 2017
Apologies, it was Michael Bennett who went low.
You could tear an ACL or break a leg in that situation - that's worse than what Gronk did last week #Seahawks #Jaguars https://t.co/LBH2Kw7Wnx— Will Gavin (@WillGav) December 11, 2017
Bennett then flopped on top of Linder, leading to a lengthy scrum between the two teams.
Bennett and Jaguars running back Leonard Fournette, who shoved the Seahawks defensive lineman in response to the situation, were penalised for personal fouls.
Seattle defensive end Sheldon Richardson also was called for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected.
"We were playing hard today and a guy grabbed me after the whistle blew," Richardson said. “I was protecting myself and things got a little hot. There was some shoving and I was protecting my teammates. That’s the way it goes."
After Bennett headed to the bench, the Seahawks crashed the victory formation again on the next play and spurred another standoff.
This time, Seattle defensive end Quinton Jefferson was penalised and ejected.
Seahawks coach Pete Carroll also drew an unsportsmanlike conduct foul for coming to the middle of the field to address his players.
Bennett refused to elaborate afterward, telling Seahawks media, “I don’t have to explain myself.”
Asked by Sporting News what he thought spurred Bennett’s actions, a testy Linder said, “I don’t know. It is what it is. I don’t give a s—. I don’t care.”
Some of Linder’s other teammates had no reservations speaking their mind about an incident certain to draw NFL fines and potential suspensions.
"That’s somebody’s livelihood," said Jaguars tight end Marcedes Lewis, who was on the field when the melee occurred. “Why try to hurt somebody? We have 60 minutes to handle (the game). In the last 30 seconds you’re going to spear someone in the legs? That’s not cool.”
Bortles said he believed Seattle’s actions stemmed partly from the Seahawks' frustration of losing, and “people aren’t used to getting beat like that by the Jaguars.”
"We just beat the crap out of you for 60 minutes," Bortles said.
The situation got even harrier when a fan tossed a water bottle at Jefferson as he was leaving the field. Jefferson took off his helmet and approached the stands looking for the perpetrator. When another beverage was thrown at him, Jefferson tried climbing a railing into the crowd to retaliate before being pulled back and restrained by security.
Bortles took a verbal jab at Jefferson’s situation by calling it "a little Ron Artest" action, referring to the former NBA player who famously went into the crowd as part of a 2004 brawl that included fans and players.
"Going into the stands probably isn’t too smart," Bortles said.
Neither is risking suspension with the Seahawks (8-5) fighting for a playoff spot with three games remaining in the regular season.