Mark Kaboly is reporting via Twitter that Steelers free safety Ryan Clark has been fine $40K this week for a hit or perhaps even two in the game this past Sunday night against the Ravens. This makes the second consecutive game that Clark has been fined for as he was docked $15K for an out of bounds hit on Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski the week before. Kaboly also reports that Clark is not very happy about the fine and Clark even said in a radio interview Tuesday night that he has no intentions in sitting down with NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to discuss anything should he end up being fined.
Clark was flagged with just under 30 seconds left in the half against the Ravens after hitting tight end Ed Dickson right after he made a catch and effectively separated Dickson from the ball. Replays and still shots show that Clark did his best to lead with his shoulder and Dickson lowered his head right before contact. Clark defended the hit in the interview last night that I mentioned above, but was pretty much resigned to the possibility of getting fined, because he was flagged for a personal foul on the play.
There is still certainly some more fines also coming from the Sunday night game as Adam Schefter reported Monday night that both Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis and Steelers linebacker James Harrison could both be docked for helmet-to-helmet hits on Hines Ward and Ray Rice respectively, and while reviewing the game tape this week, it would not surprise me if Ravens linebacker Jameel McClain was fined for a helmet-to-helmet hit on Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown as well. Unlike Clark though, no flags were thrown on these plays.
The latest $40K fine for Clark now brings the Steelers 2011 fine total to $182,500 from 10 different players.
