Patriots RB Fined for Hit on Cardinals LB

Arizona Cardinals LB Mack Wilson left action with a concussion after this hit from New England Patriots RB Antonio Gibson.

Dec 15, 2024; Glendale, Arizona, USA; New England Patriots running back Antonio Gibson (4) against the Arizona Cardinals at State Farm Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

New England Patriots running back Antonio Gibson was fined by the NFL for a hit to the head against Arizona Cardinals linebacker Mack Wilson Sr. last week.

The fine - worth $14,805 - was for unnecessary roughness.

Video of the hit:

Patriots RB Antonio Gibson (4) was fined $14,805 for unnecessary roughness (use of the helmet) in last week's loss to the Cardinals.

The play came in the first quarter (13:09). pic.twitter.com/p3T6EQkCpc

— Mike Reiss (@MikeReiss) December 21, 2024

The hit ultimately gave Wilson a concussion and put him out for the rest of the game. He's also missing this week's contest against the Carolina Panthers as a result.

Gibson wasn't the lone player in the Cardinals-Patriots matchup last week to be fined, as Zach Pascal ($11,255 for taunting) and Deatrich Wise ($16,883 for a horse-collar tackle) also saw their piggy bank hit.

Out of the 2,578 plays last week, 34 were fined according to the league's official site.

The Cardinals ultimately won 30-17 to keep their season alive, though the loss of Wilson could carry over bigger consequences if he misses any more action.

After this week, Arizona is on the road against the Los Angeles Rams and will finish the regular season at home against the San Francisco 49ers.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon delivered the following message after the Patriots game when asked about losing Wilson and other LB Jesse Luketa just a few plays after:

“Yeah, (it’s) very serious. That early in the ball game to lose two guys who are going to play a lot of snaps for you, yeah. But I think that's the value, (Defensive Coordinator) Nick (Rallis) takes emotion out of it like, 'Okay. Here's what we're going to do and here's who’s going to play.' It's a cool thing for me (to see) guys role change like that within the ball game and step up and play good football for us," he said.

"We've got a lot of versatile guys that can play. We feel good about all those guys playing and a lot of those guys, ‘Vic’ (LB Victor Dimukeje), ‘J.O’ (LB Julian Okwara) and (LB) Zaven (Collins) and (LB) Baron (Browning). I'm thinking about the outside linebacker room because Mack with him going down now, that changes a little bit then Jesse going down changes a little bit and the brunt of that room picked it up. I thought they did a good job.”