Ndamukong Suh, the Detroit Lions’ defensive tackle defensive tackle with a growing reputation for questionable behavior on the field, was not suspended by the NFL for kicking Houston quarterback Matt Schaub.
The incident occurred in the Lions’ overtime loss to the Texans on Thanksgiving Day, when Suh’s left foot struck an unsuspecting Schaub as Suh was falling.
League spokesman Greg Aiello said the incident still will be reviewed for a potential fine.
This was not Suh’s first run-in with the league’s disciplinary office, nor was it his first Thanksgiving incident.
Last year, Suh was ejected from the Lions’ Thanksgiving Day loss to the Green Bay Packers and was suspended two weeks after he stomped on the arm of offensive lineman Evan Deitrich-Smith.
Suh said that play wasn’t intentional, but the NFL believed it was malicious enough to suspend him.
Although the NFL uses an escalating punishment scale based upon repeat offenses, the league clearly deemed this instance to be accidental.
Suh left the locker room before reporters were allowed in after Thursday’s game, and Schaub was in no mood to talk about the play.
“I really don’t have anything to say about that play or that person,” he said following the Texans’ 34-31 overtime victory.
On Monday, Schaub had harsher words for the Lions’ talented tackle, saying the Texans would never be interested in a player like Suh.
“The stuff that he stands for and the type of player he is, that’s not Houston Texan-worthy,” Schaub said. “That’s not what we’re about as a football team, as individuals, collectively as a group, we’re not that type of person.”
