New England Patriots quarterback Mac Jones will have a little less money to do holiday shopping this year.
The NFL hit the second-year signal-caller with a $10,609 fine due to what the league office deemed unsportsmanlike conduct on a play that occurred late in New England’s home loss to the Buffalo Bills last Thursday, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
With less than three minutes to go in the contest, Bills defensive lineman A.J. Epenesa forcefully threw Jones to the turf for a sack. Clearly frustrated after the play, Jones flipped the ball into the midsection of Epenesa, which the NFL believed was enough of an offense to dig into Jones’ wallet. The referees threw no flag on the play, and you can watch it all unfold here.
Jones’ fine is more than double of what Bills safety Damar Hamlin received for his unnecessary roughness hit that concussed Patriots wide receiver Jakobi Meyers and got him ejected from the game. Hamlin was docked $4,806 by the NFL for his injury-inducing hit, per ESPN’s Mike Reiss.
Meyers is still feeling the impact of that blow as he was already ruled out, along with two other Patriots starters, for Monday’s road game against the Arizona Cardinals.
