NFL Suspends Danny Trevathan; Could Miss Game Against Vikings

If you were watching this week’s Thursday Night Football contest between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears, you saw Bears’ linebacker Danny Trevathan absolutely level Green Bay wide receiver Davante Adams with an amazingly dirty hit. Trevathan was penalized on the play, but not ejected.

Thanks to a new NFL rule with an emphasis on player safety, it appears that the Minnesota Vikings won’t have to prepare for Trevathan when the team travels to Soldier Field next Monday night.

On Saturday, the NFL suspended Trevathan for two games, which means he would miss Monday night’s game. He will apparently appeal the suspension, with the hearing to be held this week. That means that the league will likely rule on his status before Monday’s contest.

Per our friends at Acme Packing Company, the exact rule in question comes from Rule 12, Section 2, Article 6(i):

There shall be no unnecessary roughness. This shall include, but will not be limited to: (i) using any part of a player’s helmet or facemask to butt, spear, or ram an opponent violently or unnecessarily;

The hit led to Adams being taken off the field on a stretcher and spending Thursday night in the hospital before going home on Friday.

While the focus is still, obviously, on tomorrow’s big NFC North matchup with the Detroit Lions, there are already some moving pieces that will affect the Vikings’ second straight NFC North contest.