Pittsburgh Steelers safety Mike Mitchell was penalized Sunday for a low hit from behind on Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Alex Smith and on Thursday it’s being reported that he will pay dearly for it.
According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the NFL has fined Mitchell $48,620 for his late hit on Smith. Mitchell also will reportedly appeal the fine.
Mitchell’s hit on Smith came late in the third quarter of Sunday’s game after the quarterback had escaped pressure and passed the football to running back Kareem Hunt. While Mitchell has since said him being tripped by Steelers outside linebacker Anthony Chickillo is what led to him hitting Smith in his lower body and from behind, the league still viewed it as a finable offense and one that the safety could have avoided just the same.
“If you watch the tape, I’m even trying to turn my body as I’m falling,” Mitchell said a few days ago. “Alex is back pedaling into me, I wasn’t even going in the direction of Alex. He’s actually throwing it and fading away. There are a lot of things that go into the play that make it an accident you don’t want to see.”
Smith, however, viewed Mitchell’s hit differently.
“I felt like it was extremely late,” Smith said earlier this week of Mitchell’s hit. “I felt there was nothing done there to avoid contact. It was really low from the backside. I thought it was about as flagrant as it gets when it comes to a low hit on the quarterback.”
Previously, Mitchell has reportedly been fined three times during his career with two of these being for illegal hits and that’s probably why his fine amount of $48,620 is as high as it is as he’s considered a repeat offender.
