Early in the season-opening win over the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray suffered a concussion via a brutal, late, unnecessary, and avoidable hit from Packers safety Javon Bullard.
Bullard, of course, drew a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty for the hit, but otherwise had no in-game consequences. The trade of taking a penalty like that to knock the opposing quarterback out of the game, with the added layer of putting a division rival's starting quarterback into the uncertainty of concussion protocol, might've been a fair one for Bullard as he considered his options when Murray slid.
The joke was on him and the Packers, if that was a fair trade to make. Carson Wentz is a capable backup, and he showed it again as the Vikings scored 22 unanswered fourth-quarter points.
During ESPN's "Get Up" on Monday, host Mike Greenberg cited the idea that the Vikings were upset about the play (as they should've been, and should be), but ESPN's Adam Schefter said he doesn't expect Bullard to be suspended for the hit on Murray.
"Yeah, [the Vikings] were not pleased. They felt like they should have gone after Javon Bullard during the game.
Now, I don't believe he's going to get suspended by the NFL. The league will review it, but I don't think it will result in any sort of suspension.
I'm sure there could be a fine for the particular play."
Schefter saying "they felt like they should have gone after Bullard during the game" lands vaguely. Did he mean the officials or the league office with an ejection? Or the Vikings themselves?
As for the other note, after the game, via ESPN's Kevin Seifert, Vikings right tackle Brian O'Neill expressed regret for not going after Bullard more.
"It was so bang, bang. You don't want to freak out if you're wrong. I was probably wrong to not freak out more than that. So I kind of wish I took a shot at him."
Going after Bullard more harshly right after the hit on Murray is a slippery slope, as O'Neill insinuated, in terms of drawing ensuing flags and such.
It also would've been nice to see some harder retaliation in the moment, but it's worth wondering if the game tape will show some sneakier retaliation on Bullard away from plays.
Minnesota Vikings (and their fans) will have to accept the likely consequences for hit on Kyler Murray
Despite Schefter expressing a bit of uncertainty, Bullard is absolutely going to get hit in the wallet when Week 1 fines are doled out on Saturday.
As for a suspension, that could've effectively come via an ejection from Sunday's game, and Schefter thinks it's not likely to subsequently be on the table.
Through his first two NFL seasons, Bullard has never been fined or suspended for an on-field transgression. A suspension would be aggressive for a first-time offender, if we're being honest, but a noticeable fine should come.
That said, there's very little rhyme, reason, or uniformity to how the NFL levies fines, beyond an increase from prior fines if someone is a repeat offender in the same or a similar category of on-field offenses.
So the odds that Bullard's fine will look light seem high, which will fuel even more ire from anyone associated with the Vikings.
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