Captain Munnerlyn’s unnecessary roughness penalty on Saints quarterback Drew Brees may have cost the Vikings a shot at winning the game.
But it won’t cost him anything from his bank account.
Munnerlyn was not fined by the NFL for the “suplex” tackle, in which he appeared to throw Brees to the ground, ESPN reports.
“I’m kind of excited,” Munnerlyn told the Pioneer Press. “It was a bad call.”
Here’s video of the play, if you want to watch it again in high quality. Otherwise a GIF (via Reddit) is below.
Munnerlyn explained to the Pioneer Press officials apparently thought he threw Brees down after the whistle, but the cornerback said after watching tape, that clearly wasn’t the case and no whistle was blown.
Bress, however, said earlier this week it was “as obvious a penalty as you’d ever see,” the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported.
Safety Robert Blanton had the quarterback’s wrapped up at the time as well, and also was not fined.
After the tackle, Brees appeared to go after Blanton, who landed on top of the Saint. Brees was not penalized for his actions.
As for Sunday’s upcoming game against Atlanta: Linebacker Chad Greenway will be out with a broken rib and broken hand. It will snap his streak of 115 consecutive games played. Tight end Kyle Rudolph is also out after having sports hernia surgery. Cornerback Josh Robinson was limited in practice all week with a hamstring injury.
Oh, and quarterback Matt Cassel and offensive lineman Brandon Fusco are out the rest of the season.
