KIRKLAND – First, his midsection. And now, his pocket.
Seattle Seahawks tight end Jerramy Stevens took another shot Wednesday, when the NFL fined him for his actions in Monday night’s win over the Oakland Raiders.
Stevens was fined $15,000 for what he did after two different plays – one in each half. The punishment stemmed from incidents that also involved Oakland players Tyler Brayton and Stuart Schweigert. Brayton was fined $25,000 for kneeing Stevens in the groin, while Schweigert was not reprimanded for a separate incident in which Stevens got into his face following an incomplete pass. None of the players were suspended.
Stevens and the Seahawks had no comment on the fine Wednesday. Stevens was not made available to reporters.
Stevens and Brayton got into a tussle near the end of Monday’s game at Qwest Field. At the conclusion of a running play, the two opponents clutched each other’s jerseys and continued pushing and shoving. At one point, Stevens’s right leg came up between Brayton’s knees, although the move did not appear to be made with any intent to kick Brayton.
Raiders coach Art Shell said earlier this week that he believed Stevens was trying to kick Brayton. According to the press release sent out by the NFL on Wednesday, the league agrees with Shell’s theory.
The NFL release, citing the conclusions of director of football operations Gene Washington, stated: “Stevens attempted to kick his opponent in the groin area.”
The release also indicated that Stevens’s fine included a first-half incident in which he smashed facemasks with Schweigert at the end of a play.
“Stevens’ actions violated the rules that prohibit kicking or kneeing, impermissible use of the helmet, and taunting,” the release said of that incident.
Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, speaking before the fine was officially announced, said that Stevens needs to do a better job of controlling his emotions on the field. Asked whether he believes that Stevens’s emotional outbursts have been the reason for some of his dropped passes, Holmgren said: “I think they are.
“I don’t mean to pick on Jerramy,” Holmgren said, “but I think they are. Some players are more emotional. They wear them on their sleeves, (and) they act out a bit. If the emotional player has a moment where something happens, then it’s a little harder to shake that.”
Holmgren talked to his entire team Wednesday morning about the effects of outbursts and trash-talking. He didn’t get into specifics with reporters a few minutes later, but Holmgren made it clear that he wasn’t a fan of the extracurricular activities that happen during a game.
“Looking at some of those incidents, (the players involved) are kind of selfish,” Holmgren told the media Wednesday afternoon. “You are putting yourself before the team, before the situation, with no real concern with how it affects the game. And I don’t like that.”
At least two Raiders – Schweigert and defensive tackle Warren Sapp – made postgame comments that questioned Stevens’s overall sportsmanship. Sapp continued to talk about Stevens on Wednesday.
“This dude has been a piece of (expletive) since he got in this league, and it’s never going to change about him,” Sapp told Bay Area reporters in the Raiders’ locker room on Wednesday. “… You can just look at this guy’s track record; it’s just what it is. Something’s got to change about it. But he’s going to get his, guaranteed. This league has a great way of humbling you, and he’ll get his – no doubt about it.”
Current teammate and former San Francisco 49ers opponent Julian Peterson didn’t necessarily agree with Sapp’s assertion, but he did admit that Stevens has a way of getting under an opponent’s skin.
“Before I came here, I couldn’t stand him,” Peterson said of Stevens, while laughing as he spoke. “He just knows how to rub people the wrong way. It’s not necessarily doing anything dirty or anything like that. He’s just like that gnat that you end up slapping at all the time.”
Stevens was not talking to reporters Wednesday, but he said after Monday’s win that Brayton’s actions were a result of growing frustration.
“I was getting after him a little bit, and he started getting upset about getting beat,” Stevens said immediately following the Seahawks’ 16-0 win. “It happens.”
Brayton, a Pasco native, was remorseful when addressing Bay Area reporter on Wednesday.
“I feel like I let a lot of people down,” he said. “I embarrassed myself, my family, the Raiders organization, the entire NFL. For that, I apologize. I kind of allowed my personal frustrations and emotions get the best of me. My actions are inexcusable, provoked or unprovoked.
“I also apologize to Jerramy Stevens and Seattle Seahawks. Doesn’t matter what the situation was, I had no right to do that.”
Brayton was scheduled to make $630,000 in base salary this season, or about $37,000 per game. Stevens makes just over $60,000 per game, according to data obtained from the NFL Players Association.
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