Report: Seahawks’ Richard Sherman fined for hit on Dan Carpenter

The NFL has fined Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman roughly $9,000 for his hit on Bills kicker Dan Carpenter Monday night, according to a report from ProFootballTalk.com.

It’s the latest development from what has turned out to be a very significant play, not just in terms of Seattle’s win over Buffalo but also what has happened since then. The NFL admitted two officiating errors as a result of that play. Carpenter’s wife shared an ugly reaction on Twitter then gave what Sherman called a “B.S. apology.” Seahawks coach Pete Carroll and Bills coach Rex Ryan traded some barbs. And now Sherman has reportedly been fined.

To recap the sequence of events during that play once more (actually, this probably won’t be the last time), Sherman jumped offsides while trying to block Buffalo’s 53-yard field-goal attempt at the end of the first half. Instead of retreating back across the line of scrimmage, he kept going, and because he jumped so early, the ball had yet to be kicked once he arrived at it. Pictures show that his hand was touching the ball – still on the ground – before colliding with Carpenter, which Sherman noted as to refute the notion he was diving for Carpenter’s legs.

Sherman was flagged for offsides but not for unnecessary roughness on the play, though the NFL’s head of officiating, Dean Blandino, said after the game that he should have been. Referee Walt Anderson’s explanation for why Sherman wasn’t penalized for unnecessary roughness was that he may not have been aware that officials were trying to blow the play dead, which would be entirely possible in the absence of a whistle before the collision.

That no whistle seemed to be blown initially, and that Sherman got his hand on the ball before the collision, could have conceivably exonerated him from a fine. But it apparently didn’t. As PFT notes, the NFL’s fine schedule suggests that $9,115 is the exact amount Sherman was docked.