On the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ first defensive possession of Thursday Night Football, defensive tackle Vita Vea forced the Atlanta Falcons to settle for a field goal attempt with a third-down sack. However, the biggest story of the play came in its immediate aftermath.
Advertisement
After sacking quarterback Kirk Cousins, Vea celebrated by army crawling toward midfield. Once he finished his movement, he assumed a sniper’s position and “fired” a shot before standing up and returning to the sideline.
#Buccaneers Vita Vea sacks Kirk Cousins and then hits the army crawl sniper celebration #NFL pic.twitter.com/HkRb7j59i9
— Tanner Phifer (@TannerPhifer) October 4, 2024
Vea’s actions are reminiscent of two other celebratory moves that the NFL penalized in recent weeks. Falcons wide receiver Drake London capped off his game-winning touchdown in Week 2 with a shooting motion that drew a $14,069 fine.
New York Giants rookie Malik Nabers has been hit with two fines in that amount after performing two “gun-like” celebrations after touchdowns.
Barring a surprise, Vea will most likely be fined that hefty total either later this week or early next week under the same “violent gestures” umbrella.
In Week 4, New York Jets receiver Allen Lazard drew a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct flag for a “gun-like” motion following a 12-yard catch.
Lazard fighting back on his potential fine
The WR told reporters earlier this week that the league gave him “zero clarification” on why he was penalized, and added he expects to be fined.
However, Lazard is also anticipating an exemption. He believes that he’ll be let off the hook because he wasn’t “warned” about the motion being a penalty.
“They’re definitely going to exempt it… it wouldn’t make sense to fine someone for something [they] weren’t warned [on].”
Despite Lazard’s insistence, the NFL clearly wants to eliminate the sorts of celebrations he, Nabers and Vea, among others, have resorted to after making big plays. The storyline has been evolving for nearly a month now. Can he truly expect to be given a free pass when other first-time offenders haven’t been as fortunate?
Lazard returns to the field on Sunday, when the Jets face the Minnesota Vikings in London. Meanwhile, both he and Vea await the league’s decision on potential fines.
