Arizona Cardinals offensive lineman Will Hernandez was ejected in the second half of the team’s 26-16 win over the Carolina Panthers. He was tossed, getting flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct against an official.
He will not be suspended, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. He could receive a fine.
The incident occurred after Panthers linebacker Frankie Luvu threw running back James Conner to the ground after the play had been whistled dead. He was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct but Hernandez went to confront Luvu and defend Conner.
However, on the way to get to Luvu, he ran into one of the officials. He did not push him but did go through him to get to Luvu.
Head coach Kliff Kingsbury said what Hernandez did can’t happen.
“You can’t have that,” he told reporters Monday. “In that situation, we had a lineman down already, so we’ve got to be smarter than that. You do appreciate him having his teammates back and they all know that, but we can’t put our team in that type of position.”
This is good news for the Cardinals about there being no suspension. They might have to play without left guard Justin Pugh, who is again day-to-day with an elbow injury.
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