Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach Bruce Arians was fined $50,000 for slapping Andrew Adams, the Bucs safety, on the helmet. Arians struck Adams on the head during his team’s comfortable 31-15 win in the NFC Wild Card game over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Bucs were 31-0 after three quarters, but the Bucs’ impressive performance didn’t stop the NFL from noticing the moment Arians whacked Adams on the helmet and fining him afterwards.
He Did It to Stop Adams from Being Penalized
The unusual incident for which Arians has been fined took place in the third quarter when the Bucs recovered Jalen Reagor’s fumble. After the play, Arians entered the field and slapped his safety on the head. He explained that he did that to stop Adams from getting a penalty for pulling people out of the scrum.
Following the game, Arians said he had seen his fair share of dumb things and that pulling players out of a pile was one of them. According to the coach, you just cannot do that. He added that his team was in a great position, having just recovered a fumble, and Adams was about to ruin that by pulling people out of the pile. So, he did the only thing that could do at that time and slapped his player on the helmet to prevent the safety from being penalized.
An Unnecessary Distraction
However, watching the video from the game clearly shows that Adams was no longer in the pile when Arians struck him on the helmet. Chances are that Arians hit Adams with an open left hand to tell him that he was angry with him for what he previously did and not to stop him from getting a penalty.
Nevertheless, it is Arians who is penalized now, and the Tampa Bay coach will be $50,000 lighter when the Bucs meet the Los Angeles Rams in the Divisional Round playoff match-up.
Arians did say, though, that he would appeal the fine, adding that “It ain’t got nothing to do with the game – so we are good”. However, the whole thing might turn into an unnecessary distraction as Arians’ team heads into their most important game of the season thus far.
We will soon find out if there would be any follow-ups resulting from the incident or if it will affect the way the Bucs play against the Rams on Sunday.
Stay tuned for updates.
