The Pacman Jones, Amari Cooper saga has taken yet another turn as the Cincinnati Bengals cornerback may or may not have been provoked by the fourth overall pick before slamming Cooper’s head into his helmet on Sunday. An incident that caused Jones a $35,000 fine, but no suspension for the uneccessary roughness penalty after the play in the Bengals win over the Raiders.
There are rumblings around the league that Cooper may have committed a dirty play of his own to match Jones’ physicality before the after the whistle play as the reason for Pacman crossing the line after the whistle in the first half of Sunday’s game.
According to ProFootballTalk, sources have said that Jones was upset that Cooper was using his fists to create separation with the physical cornerback. Claiming that the rookie went as far as punching the 31 year old veteran in the throat before the head smashing incident. According to the PFT source, Jones also claims he didn’t know the helmet was under Cooper’s head at the time.
From ProFootballTalk:
A source with knowledge of Pacman’s reasoning tells PFT that Jones was upset by Cooper throwing a fist into Pacman’s throat as Pacman was pursuing the ball and Cooper was trying to keep Pacman from closing in.
Per the source, Jones also claims he didn’t realize he was slamming Cooper’s head into his own helmet, and that Pacman was simply pushing Cooper’s head.
It is possible that Cooper may have been playing physical with Pacman given just how rough the cornerback was playing during the season opener, but it is hard to believe without seeing it on tape that a rookie with no reputation from college would have punched a veteran cornerback. It appears to be the story that Pacman is at least claiming in private circles, but it still doesn’t justify the dirty play he made on Cooper after the whistle with the Raiders wideout on the ground. This story will die as soon as games get played, but Pacman himself is refusing to let it go quietly with developments coming out daily.
Source:
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