Ndamukong Suh won’t be suspended; could still be fined

While the third-year pro insists that his foot “inadvertently hit” Schaub in the groin while he was falling to the ground, Suh has a history of suspensions and fines for plays perceived as dirty or illegal by the league office. The league said earlier this week that Suh’s history would be a factor in the team’s review of the incident with Schaub.

The NFL ultimately decided not to suspend Suh for the play, likely because it’s not entirely obvious whether he actually did intend to hit Schaub or not. His past history did appear to be enough to warrant a substantial fine, though, putting the lineman back five figures for his alleged mistake.

“I was dragged to the ground, and my foot inadvertently hit the man,” Suh said when asked about the play by reporters on Wednesday.

The latest in a long run of controversial hits by the third-year lineman, that shaky history has played into how the public has ultimately perceived the play. The NFL reviewed the play this week and, although it said that it would consider Suh’s history in making a decision, announced recently that Suh won’t be suspended.

During Thursday afternoon’s Thanksgiving Day match-up against Houston, Suh was seen kicking Schaub in the groin area while falling to the ground near the end of a play. The defenseless Schaub immediately collapsed to the ground, clearly in pain from Suh’s possibly deliberate move.

While it’s not entirely clear whether Suh intended to hit Schaub specifically where he did, or at all, the public’s perception of the situation isn’t helped by Suh’s controversial past, which includes suspensions and fines for inappropriate on-field behavior.

Texans quarterback Matt Schaub took an unfortunate hit in their Thanksgiving day game against the Lions.

Schaub dropped back to pass, receiving some pressure from the Lions defensive line. As he got rid of the ball, Ndamukong Suh was falling over Texans offensive tackle Derek Newton and....well: