Add quarterback Jay Cutler to the list of Bears who were fined for plays or actions in Sunday’s win against the Minnesota Vikings.
Cutler was fined $10,000 for taunting, according to a league source. Cutler was penalized for taunting Vikings cornerback A.J. Jefferson late in the first quarter.
Cutler scrambled for a 13-yard gain and was pushed out of bounds by Jefferson on the play. Cutler stiff-armed Jefferson on his way out of bounds. He then flipped the ball back at Jefferson as he made his way back to the Bears’ huddle to receive the penalty.
“I was just trying to toss him the ball gingerly and say ‘Good job’, and they caught me, so…,” Cutler said after the game.
There is no word whether Cutler plans to appeal his fine. But most players do in such cases.
Although Cutler’s penalty hindered the Bears’ drive, wide receiver Brandon Marshall said he likes seeing his quarterback play with that edge.
“Yes, I laughed,” Marshall said after the game. “They probably got a shot of us laughing afterwards. I mean, we didn’t get seven [points] out of it, Robbie [Gould] came and kicked a field goal. It’s part of the game. There are a lot of emotions, we battle, and he just got caught. A lot of that is going on. It’s all friendly and he just happened to get caught.”
Four Bears were fined in all by the league after the Vikings game.
Other than Cutler, league sources confirmed to the Sun-Times that linebacker Brian Urlacher was fined $15,750 for a horse-collar tackle on running back Adrian Peterson; defensive tackle Henry Melton was fined $7,875 for a face mask penalty against Peterson; and kick returner/receiver Eric Weems was fined $7,875 for a late hit on Jefferson on the play just prior to Cutler’s taunting penalty.
