Richard Sherman’s fine for hitting Tyler Lockett was not enough

Former Seahawks cornerback Richard Sherman was fined for his hit on current Seattle receiver Tyler Lockett. But it was too little too late.

I am going to be as real as possible here, 12s. I was a big fan of Richard Sherman when he was with the Seahawks. He may not have been my favorite player but he was top five. He talked a lot of trash, which I usually do not like because I am old and stuff, but he helped set the tone for the greatest secondary in NFL history. But Sherman received a fine for hitting Tyler Lockett in Seattle’s week 10 victory over the 49ers that simply did not go far enough.

I don’t want to make it seem like Sherman’s head-first slow down of Lockett was horribly contrived and meant to cause injury. It wasn’t. Sherman is many things but he is not a dirty player on the field. He runs his mouth too much maybe, but that is part of what makes Sherman Sherman. And had Sherman not been with the Seahawks for most of this decade Seattle would be worse off.

The problem doesn’t even lie with Sherman really. Sherman was penalized as he should have been. No player should lead with their helmet because they could hurt themselves or the other players. It was simply bad form by the cornerback.

The issue is with the NFL. How would you feel if you were at work and did something that was bad form and your boss let it slide but later upper management came back and said, “We have to take some of your salary for this infraction”? This is basically what happened.

Sherman should have been flagged on the play right then and there. But he wasn’t. If the NFL is truly going to hold players accountable for the hits they level on the field then the NFL should punish their team on the field too. Seattle faced a third down after Sherman’s almost-tackle. But the Seahawks should have had a first down because of helmet-to-helmet contact.

Maybe this is just another example of the NFL caring more about teams than it does players. The 49ers weren’t given a penalty. Sherman was and after the fact. Officiating in the NFL stinks now and Sherman’s bad slow down of Lockett is just another example.