The NFL hasn’t been shy in shelling out fines to players for taunting penalties this season, and Baltimore Ravens‘ defensive end Dre’Mont Jones is no exception to that. Jones was fined $14,055 for a “violent gesture” after he recorded a sack late in the game against the New York Jets during week 12.
Jones was clearly displeased with the fine handed down to him, and responded to the NFL with a post on X.
“I was just saying ‘it’s over’ like in a competitive sense and now my kids aren’t gonna have Christmas gifts this year,” Jones posted.
It seemed to be a very benign celebration compared to other “throat slashing” gestures that have been done by other players. Jones’ celebration had more similarity to the motion Jonah Hill made in the hilarious and widely shared Oscar’s clip than it did to anything resembling actual violence.
Regardless of what his intentions were with the celebration, the NFL decided that it was worthy of a $14,000 punishment. Considering Jones has earned just under $50 million in his NFL career, his kids should be in the clear to get a nice haul this Christmas despite Jones’ post.
Jones Providing Ravens Pass Rush With Consistency
Outside of his new beef with the NFL, Jones has been a great addition to the Baltimore defense. He was acquired by the Ravens at the NFL trade deadline from the Tennessee Titans as Baltimore looked to solidify their faltering defense.
Since coming over to Baltimore, Jones has 1.5 sacks, five tackles, and one pass defended. He’s also logged six quarterback hits. His career high in sacks is 6.5 and he is just a half sack away from tying that number this season between Baltimore and Tennessee.
The Ravens defense seemed to tank at the same time Lamar Jackson went down, leading to a perfect storm early in the season of poor play on both sides of the ball. Jones has reinforced what, on paper, is a very good defense, and since his acquisition and the return of Jackson, Baltimore has weathered the storm to get back to .500 atop the AFC North.
Bad Loss to Cincinnati Sparks Desperation in Baltimore
After starting the season 1-5, the Ravens went on a five game winning streak to get to 6-5, but a home loss to the Cincinnati Bengals on Thanksgiving brought Baltimore back down to earth. With the Pittsburgh Steelers also faltering of late, the AFC North is once again up for grabs between the Ravens, Bengals, and Steelers.
The Bengals seemed to be all but out of the playoff race after Joe Burrow went down and they lost eight of nine games after starting the season 2-0. But with the win over the Ravens on Thanksgiving, a 4-8 record has Cinci just two games back of both Baltimore and Pittsburgh with five weeks left in the NFL season.
The Ravens are still favored to win the division, and with three of their final five games against Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, they can control their own destiny with three wins.
Ravens’ Dre’Mont Jones Sends Message to NFL After Taunting Punishment