New England Patriots - NESN.com
The New England Patriots likely will not have to gameplan for Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase.
Chase was handed a one-game suspension on Monday, stemming from an incident where he was determined to have spit on Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey on Sunday, according to NFL Media’s Ian Rapoport.
Chase, who currently leads the league in catches (79) and ranks second in receiving yards (861), violated Rule 12, Section 3, Article 1, which applies to “any act which is contrary to the generally understood principles of sportsmanship” and forfeits $507,156, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The Patriots shouldn’t do victory laps about avoiding one of the league’s premiere receivers just yet, as he’s eligible to appeal the suspension to one of the NFL and NFLPA’s jointly appointed appeal officers — Derrick Brooks, Ramon Foster or Jordy Nelson.
Chase did get caught on camera, though…
The NFL already set a precedent for this kind of incident on Week 1.
Philadelphia Eagles defensive lineman Jalen Carter spit at Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott before playing a snap and was thrown out immediately, and thus the league fined him the equivalent of a game check and treated the game as time served. Chase and Ramsey’s tiff came in the fourth quarter, and only the latter was ejected — thus leaving the former susceptible to the suspension.
New England and Cincinnati are scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. ET at Paycor Stadium on Sunday.
