GRONK SUSPENDED FOR LATE HIT
Manning expected to start for Giants
New England’s Rob Gronkowski has been suspended for one game.
FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The NFL suspended New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski one game on Monday for a late, gratuitous hit to the head of Bills defensive back Tre’Davious White.
White was lying face down on the sideline after intercepting a pass in Buffalo on Sunday when Gronkowski bodyslammed him, driving his forearm into White’s back and head. Gronkowski was called for unnecessary roughness, but not kicked out of the game.
“Your actions were not incidental, could have been avoided and placed the opposing player at risk of serious injury,” NFL vice president Jon Runyan said in a letter to Gronkowski. “The competition committee has clearly expressed its goal of ‘eliminating flagrant hits that have no place in our game.’ Those hits include the play you were involved in yesterday.”
Gronkowski will appeal the punishment, his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, told The Associated Press.
After the game, Patriots coach Bill Belichick appeared to apologize to Bills counterpart Sean McDermott. Gronkowski also apologized, saying he let his frustration get the better of him.
“I’m not in the business of that,” he told reporters after the game, which New England won 23-3. “There was a lot of frustration. I just want to apologize to Tre’Davious White. I don’t believe in taking shots like that.”
Barring a successful appeal, Gronkowski will miss New England’s game against Miami next Monday night.
McDermott said White had entered the concussion protocol but declined to comment further on the play, the suspension or his conversation with Belichick.
GIANTS: Ben McAdoo is out. Jerry Reese is out. And Eli Manning could be back in.
Manning is expected to return as the Giants’ starting quarterback Sunday against the Cowboys.
ESPN’s Jordan Raanan reported Monday that with head coach McAdoo and GM Reese fired, Manning is expected to reclaim the starting job, even though there will still be an empty feeling given that coowner John Mara, Reese and McAdoo ended Manning’s consecutive start streak at 210 by botching their transition to look at their other quarterbacks.
Manning said Sunday he wasn’t mad at anyone and appreciated McAdoo’s attempt to keep him in games while looking at Geno Smith and Davis Webb. But in reality Manning was offended by McAdoo’s suggestion that Manning would continue starting games only to keep the streak alive but would come out of games at half.
BILLS: Sean McDermott is sticking with Tyrod Taylor as the Bills starter so long as the quarterback’s bruised left knee holds up. LIONS: Coach Jim Caldwell said Matthew Stafford is dealing with soreness in his throwing hand but that “nothing new has popped up” that would lead him to believe the quarterback has broken any bones.
REDSKINS: Informed that one calculation gives his Redskins a 1 percent chance of making the playoffs, cornerback Bashaud Breeland opted to take a rose-colored view. “So we still have something we can play for,” Breeland said.