In his first game as a Pittsburgh Steeler, linebacker Kwon Alexander flashed his hit power. Afterwards, the NFL showed it can hit back.
The league hit Alexander in the wallet, fining him almost $44,000 for his collision on Tampa Bay Buccaneers RB Chase Edmonds in the team’s preseason opener. Now, Alexander plans to appeal the fine. Speaking to reporters following today’s practice, Alexander complained about the league’s penalty.
Here’s what he said via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor.
“You know how the league is nowadays,” he said. “You can’t even hit too hard right now. You can barely touch him.”
You can read the quote and see the hit below.
Shortly before the Steelers’ second preseason game against Buffalo, NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reported that the NFL fined Alexander $43,709 for lowering his head to make the hit. He was also flagged on the play, resulting in a Buccaneers first down.
The reason for the high fine amount is due to the second nature of the offense. Alexander was fined for the same infraction last season. As outlined by the league’s fine policy, a second offensive causes the fine amount to double. Officially, he was fined for “Impermissible Use of the Helmet/Launching.”
Pelissero noted the league is attempting to crackdown on these types of hits. Still, it’s a heavy blow to Alexander’s wallet and he’s now subject to being fined at least that much for every such hit in 2023. Signed to a relatively cheap, one-year deal, fines like those take away a big chunk of his paycheck, especially when you consider players lose about 50 percent of their base pay to taxes.
Alexander should see serious defensive snaps this season, rotating in with LBs Elandon Roberts and Cole Holcomb. He may even see work over Holcomb in dime packages. On Saturday’s lone snap of the Steelers’ dime defense, Alexander was the only inside linebacker on the field.
Given the NFL’s letter-of-the-law emphasis, it’s unlikely Alexander will win his appeal. All NFL fine money is donated to charity.
