Terrell Suggs doesn’t have many fans in the Philadelphia Eagles’ locker room at the moment.
The Baltimore Ravens linebacker is under fire from the Eagles after a controversial hit on Philadelphia quarterback Sam Bradford on Saturday night. Suggs was flagged for hitting Bradford after the quarterback handed off, and to make matters worse, he went low for the hit.
One could argue that Suggs looked to be targeting Bradford’s knees, as he torpedoed toward the QB’s legs. Making matters worse is the fact that Bradford missed all of last season after tearing the ACL in his left knee during the 2014 preseason. It was the second time Bradford has torn the ACL in that knee, as he missed a good chunk of 2013 with the same injury.
Bradford didn’t want to make a huge deal out of things, but he did say “I think that’s what he trying to do,” when asked if Suggs was targeting his knee.
Eagles lineman Jason Peters was more than willing to call out Suggs, though.
“He was trying to take a cheap shot at the quarterback,” Peters told reporters, per ESPN.com. “I’m pretty sure he planned it. I mean, we’ve practiced against them all week, so he was probably thinking about it. I really don’t know him personally. He talks a lot, and I think he’s that type of player — who is dirty and will take shots on the quarterback.”
When asked about the hit, Suggs took a page out of Tom Brady’s playbook, telling the Eagles to learn the rulebook.
“When you run the read-option, you have to know the rules,” Suggs said, per ESPN.com. “If you want to run the read-option with your starting quarterback that has had two knee surgeries, that’s on you. That’s not my responsibility to update you on the rules.
“I could’ve hit him harder on that. I didn’t. I eased up.”
UPDATE (9:51 a.m. ET): As Deadspin points out, the NFL confirmed to ProFootballTalk.com that the hit was legal.
“If the quarterback has an option, he’s considered a runner until he either clearly doesn’t have the football or he re-establishes himself as a passer,” NFL head of officiating Dean Blandino told PFT. “So it’s not a foul by rule.
“It’s something that we’ll make sure that we cover with our game officials because the defensive end coming off the edge, he doesn’t know if the quarterback is going to keep it, he doesn’t know if he’s going to take off and run or drop back, and so we treat the quarterback in that instance as a runner until he clearly reestablishes as a passer or until he clearly doesn’t have the football.”
Thumbnail photos via Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports Images
