Mon 11/29 @ 5:34 pm – Both Johnson and Finnegan have avoided suspension from the commissioner’s office, receiving matching $25,000 fines instead.
2:35 pm – At least one of the combatants from yesterday’s boxing match in Houston will escape relatively unscathed from the NFL’s wrath. According to Mark Berman of Fox 26 Sports in Houston, no suspension is forthcoming for Johnson, but a fine for his role in the fight is expected to be levied. No word yet on the fate of Finnegan, who was clearly the instigator of the incident.
One factor that may have helped Johnson’s cause is the report that Finnegan told the Texans bench to “watch this” before the fisticuffs ensued. That would indicate a measure of pre-meditation on the part of Finnegan, and it’s likely that the league will come down harder on him as a result.
We’ll update this story as it progresses this afternoon.
Sun 11/28 @ 9:15 pm - It’s not often that Texans wide receiver Andre Johnson loses his cool on the field, but today was one occasion in which he did just that, getting into a knock down, drag out fight with Titans cornerback Cortland Finnegan that sent both players to the showers early.
Finnegan is known throughout the league for getting under his opponent’s skin any way he can, and he has a history of bringing out angry outbursts from Johnson.
Today’s spate of trash talking definitely took things to a new level though, as Johnson and Finnegan tangled up on what seemed to be a routine play, with both players ripping each other’s helmets off and Johnson landing several clean punches.
If the only thing that comes of the fight is a significant fine, both players will likely breathe a sigh of relief, as things escalated enough that a suspension could be in the works for one player or the other early next week.
That said, it’s difficult to imagine both Johnson and Finnegan being suspended as their scuffle did not involve any teammates, and a heavy fine on both will be enough of a message to the rest of the league that such behavior will not be tolerated.
Either way, the league will be quick to deliver their punishment this week, as the Texans need to know where Johnson stands headed into their Thursday night showdown against Philadelphia.
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Written by Chris Kolb
Topics: AFC South, Houston Texans, Tennessee Titans