From the very instant it happened, Aiyda Ghahramani, the wife of New York Jets wide receiver Randall Cobb, knew a fine was coming.
“That was a great block, I thought,” Ghahramani said laughing. “Probably get a fine here in the mail soon.”
Although both Ghahramani and Cobb, who was laughing in the huddle with Aaron Rodgers, thought it was funny, New York Giants safety Bobby McCain had to exit the game with a concussion due to the dirty hit.
The NFL didn’t find the illegal hit, for which Cobb was penalized, nearly as funny as the Jets duo or Ghahramani. They slapped the veteran with a near-$14,000 fine for the outlawed blindside block late this week.
The NFL fined #Jets WR Randall Cobb $13,889 for unnecessary roughness – an illegal blindside block on #Giants DB Bobby McCain in last week’s preseason finale. McCain entered concussion protocol.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) September 2, 2023
The hit led to an exchange between Rodgers and Giants linebacker Jihad Ward that has gone back and forth for nearly a week.
The two had to be separated during the game and that exchange was shown, in part, on HBO’s Hard Knocks. Despite video evidence, Rodgers claims Ward was lying when he said the quarterback and Cobb were laughing about the hit in the huddle.
“I think he’s making (expletive) up,” Rodgers said, via Connor Hughes of SNY.
The league office ultimately saw (and heard) what Ward did and decided to levy a fine on Cobb.
Neither Rodgers nor Ward were fined for their onfield exchange.
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