Denver Broncos safety Kareem Jackson was handed a four-game suspension by the NFL on Monday after being ejected for the second time this season.
Jackson was tossed from Sunday’s victory over the Green Bay Packers after a brutal helmet hit on Packers tight end Luke Musgrave early in the fourth quarter.
Announcing Jackson’s suspension, NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan released a letter that had been sent to the player explaining why he was being banned.
“On the play in question, you delivered a forceful blow to the head/neck area of a defenseless receiver, when you had the time and space to avoid such contact,” Runyan wrote.
“You could have made contact with your opponent within the rules, yet you chose not to.”
Runyan noted that Jackson has already been penalised for multiple personal fouls this season as well as being ejected against Washington in week two for a similarly dangerous hit on an opponent.
Speaking immediately after Sunday’s incident, Broncos coach Sean Payton said he believed Jackson’s prior offenses had influenced the officiating crew’s decision to eject him from the game.
“What’s difficult for Kareem is he’s got some priors,” Payton said.
“You get pulled over and you’ve had four or five speeding violations, you’re going to spend a little bit more time on the side of the road than if you didn’t have any.
“I wasn’t real surprised (at the ejection).”
