Patriots cornerback not fined for hit that concussed Josh Allen
New England Patriots defensive back Jonathan Jones was not fined for a helmet-to-helmet hit that concussed Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen last Sunday, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.
#Patriots DB Jonathan Jones, whose hit landed #Bills QB Josh Allen in the concussion protocol, was not fined, source said. It was determined Jones turned his shoulder to stop the runner (who is not defenseless), while the runner is being tackled, falling forward and down.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 5, 2019
Rapoport reported on Saturday that the league determined Jones turned his shoulder to Allen, who was not defenseless.
Here's the hit on Josh Allen.pic.twitter.com/J9HCYhM9Pp
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 29, 2019
Allen is expected to play on Sunday against the Tennessee Titans after passing concussion protocol, according to the team.
Allen sustained a concussion on the second play of the fourth quarter in last week’s loss to the New England Patriots. While attempting to run for a first down, he was drilled by Patriots cornerback Jonathan Jones. Jones was flagged for unnecessary roughness, as Allen left the game and was replaced by Matt Barkley.
The Bills lost 16-10 to fall to 3-1 on the season.
Jones told the media this week that he reached out to Allen privately to discuss the hit.
“It was just football,” Jones said. “Got a chance to talk to him. Now I’m good.”
Allen practiced on Friday after being limited to non-contact drills throughout the week. The Bills have argued that the hit was unnecessary, with safety Micah Hyde claiming the repercussions would be different had the hit been applied to Patriots quarterback Tom Brady.
Micah Hyde was asked about hit on Josh Allen and what would have happened if a #Bills player hit Tom Brady like that. He did not hold back pic.twitter.com/SQ0KahyDka
— Mike Catalana (@MikeCatalana) September 29, 2019
In his second year with the Bills, Allen has passed for 903 yards, three touchdowns and six interceptions in four starts. He has completed 60.3 percent (79 of 131) of his passes.
"There's no room in football for that," said Bills head coach Sean McDermott. "It's a shame to see a player like Josh, or any player for that matter, go down on a hit like that. I asked for an explanation. I thought he should have been thrown out. Other than that, I am not going to get into that at all. That is for the league to get into."
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