NFL sneaks in one more fine for a Seahawks player

No Fun League, indeed.

The Seattle Seahawks’ season may be over, but the fines don’t stop.

On a day when Seattle was not penalized one time against the Arizona Cardinals, evidently the league spotted an infraction that should’ve been flagged on the spot.

The NFL has fined star rookie cornerback Devon Witherspoon another $10,927, this time for unsportsmanlike conduct.

The infraction occurred on the final drive of the season, when Witherspoon closed down running back James Conner and made a picture-perfect tackle.

When Witherspoon suplexed Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Austin Trammell after the whistle had gone (which is dubious in itself since the whistle was mid-tackle), he was flagged during the play and fined for unnecessary roughness. On this occasion, the takedown of Conner was clearly legal. The whistle never blew, so the only thing to conclude was that the post-tackle celebration in Conner’s face was deemed excessive and unsportsmanlike.

Arizona was in the middle of a hurry-up offense so I don’t think they had too much interest in taking issue with the celebration.

Whatever. Unless Witherspoon said some magic words, the notion that what he did (or any player in a similar situation) is worth a 15-yard penalty/unsportsmanlike conduct fine is just so lame.

In case you’re wondering, Seattle was the 5th-most fined team in the NFL in terms of money lost this season.