Vikings safety Andrew Sendejo suspended for vicious hit on Mike Wallace

Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer was didn’t think safety Andrew Sendejo deserved a penalty flag for a brutal hit on Baltimore Ravens receiver Mike Wallace. Zimmer likely was much angrier with the news that a penalty flag wasn’t the only punishment Sendejo got.

The NFL suspended Sendejo for a game for the hit on Wallace, which knocked Wallace’s helmet off and knocked the veteran receiver out of the game. Sendejo was suspended, according to the NFL, because he “unreasonably placed both you and an opposing player at risk of a serious injury.”

Before news of the suspension came down Monday, Zimmer argued that Sendejo shouldn’t have even gotten the penalty for the hit.

“I think the receiver took five steps after he caught the ball and I think [Sendejo] hit him with a glancing blow,” Zimmer said, according to the Star-Tribune. “I know what [the officials] told me, but I’m going to turn it in and see what they say. [Wallace] established position as a runner, took two extra steps and Xavier [Rhodes] was trying to pull the ball out, which he ended up doing. The guy went down a little bit, but in my opinion he was a runner.”

It wasn’t as clear-cut as the hit by Chicago Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan on Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams, which seemed to be targeting Adams’ head. Sendejo didn’t have a huge area to hit as Wallace crossed the field with the ball.

Nevertheless, the NFL is sensitive about head injuries and it was the most violent hit of Sunday’s games. It seems like a foregone conclusion Sendejo will appeal, and he’ll offer some of the same arguments his coach did in his defense.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
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