Report: Derek Barnett unlikely to be suspended

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Eagles defensive end Derek Barnett was penalized for a brutal hit that sent Packers running back Jamaal Williams to the hospital on Thursday night. But Barnett got off without an ejection, and may avoid a suspension as well.

Barnett is unlikely to be suspended because the league’s disciplinary process will consider that he turned his helmet away and led with his shoulder, Adam Schefter of ESPN reports.

If that’s the decision, it’s a puzzling one. Regardless of whether Barnett made initial contact with his helmet or his shoulder pads, he drilled Williams after Williams had already been wrapped up and could do nothing to protect himself, resulting in Williams being stretchered off the field and placed in an ambulance.

Although the league last year gave the officiating office the authority to review personal fouls for potential ejections, Barnett was not ejected. He got off easy, and went on to have a big impact on the game, with a strip-sack of Aaron Rodgers.

It was a dirty play, and if the NFL is serious about protecting players, dirty plays should have serious consequences.