Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis was suspended two games by the NFL for a hit he placed on Packers wide receiver Davante Adams in Week 15. Davis appealed, and on Tuesday, NFL appeals officer James Thrash reduced his suspension to one game, according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
Why Thomas Davis’ suspension was reduced to 1 game for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Davante Adams
The hit was dangerous, and not necessary.
The NFL noted Davis as a repeat offender, which would likely explain the initial two-game suspension as opposed to one.
Panthers head coach Ron Rivera was surprised about the suspension, and worried for what it’ll do for his team moving forward:
Adams would be ruled out with a concussion from the hit.
Davis was visibly upset with himself after making the hit that had Adams down on the field for some time, before ultimately getting up under his own power.
After the game, Rodgers condemned the hit.
“I think it was an unnecessary hit,” Rodgers said during his post-game press conference. “He’s a repeat offender, so I’m sure the league will deal with him according to that.”
Davis’ suspension isn’t a surprise.
The NFL has had its fair share of frightening injuries the past handful of weeks. We saw Ryan Shazier on the field for an extended period of time after a routine tackle, and he remains hospitalized in Pittsburgh after undergoing spinal stabilization surgery.
JuJu Smith-Schuster was recently suspended one game for a similar hit on Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict:
The precedent has been set for those unnecessary hits during the season. Rob Gronkowski was also suspended for a game after delivering an elbow to the head of Tre’Davious White after the whistle in Week 13.
To see Davis get two games was a bit of a surprise, considering the other hits and suspensions we’ve seen this season. But as the NFL noted in their letter to him, he’s also a repeat offender. And the suspension was reduced on appeal.
It wasn’t the first big hit Adams has taken this season.
Earlier in the year, he took a hit from Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan.
This was the hit that sidelined Adams earlier in the season:
Trevathan was suspended two games for that hit on Adams, an additional game longer than Smith-Schuster and Gronkowski.
With the recent head injuries to players, it’s not a surprise to see the NFL punish Davis in an attempt to show they are serious about player safety.
Adams believes that Davis hit him with malicious intent.
On Monday morning, Adams tweeted his frustrations over the hit:
Adams then mentioned that it’s not the first time he’s experienced a big hit like that this year:
He was referencing the Trevathan hit from earlier in the season.
After seeing Adams’ reaction, Davis replied to him, saying that he didn’t mean the hit:
Another Twitter user would tweet a video for the hit with “Keep lying.” Adams would retweet the tweet onto his timeline.
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