Julius Thomas fined for chop block on Calais Campbell

The league had confirmed on Monday that the hit was illegal, paving the way for the inevitable fine. The amount of $8,268 is the standard for a first fine, implying that the hit was not “the dirtiest play ever,“ as described by Cardinals coach Bruce Arians following the game.

On the play, Campbell was rushing off the right edge, and at the snap, Thomas dove into Campbell’s knees for the chop, which caused the injury and forced Campbell out of the game.

Noting that his 35 years of experience falls short of Arians’ 37, Fox simply stated that he did not believe the hit was quite as dirty as the Cardinals coach made it out to be. “I talked to him after the game,” Fox said on Monday. “It’s not the dirtiest play I’ve seen this year.”

Still, Fox understands that the block, which injured Campbell, wasn’t kosher. He communicated as much during his Monday media availability:

The NFL has ruled that Denver Broncos tight end Julius Thomas performed an illegal chop block on Sunday, with a fine likely to follow.

Regardless, the NFL is the ultimate arbiter of the play’s legality, and it has come to a decision. NFL spokesperson Michael Signoria explained the decision, via ProFootballTalk:

The injury isn’t expected to sideline Campbell for too long, as Arians told reporters it will be a three-to-four week recovery, but that’s long enough that the Cardinals head coach won’t be satisfied with just a fine for Thomas:

The Broncos pulled away in the second half to defeat the Cardinals 41-20 on Sunday.