There’s been a lot of memorable moments between the Chicago Bears and the Green Bay Packers this season, and one involved Bears rookie wideout Luther Burden and Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon.
In the first meeting this year, Burden was seen putting his hand around Nixon’s neck, and the referees ended up calling a 15-yard penalty on Nixon, not Burden.
The NFL then reviewed the entire sequence and fined Burden $11,075 for unnecessary roughness in his altercation with Nixon.
Burden recently made his feelings clear on the whole situation.
Luther Burden Comments on NFL Punishment for Actions vs. Packers
In a recent clip, Burden shared his perspective on the punishment for his actions against Nixon.
“There’s just one of those moments. Ain’t nothing personal. First thing I get fined for. I mean, it’s not crazy, but I got fined for it.”
Emotions can run high, especially against the Packers. And this wasn’t something that Burden forgot about either. In the playoffs against Green Bay, Burden had a “choke” first down celebration. And yes, Nixon definitely saw the celebration.
However, he could get fined for that celebration, considering the NFL fined Detroit Lions star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown for his booger-flicking celebration back when the Lions played the Los Angeles Rams.
“NFL, why can’t I dig in my nose and flick it? What is bad about that?” St. Brown said.
Rule 12, Section 3 of the NFL rulebook has a list of gestures that NFL players can’t do during games. The booger flick celebration wasn’t in the rulebook, yet the NFL fined St. Brown for that celebration. The same will likely happen to Burden for his choke first down celebration.
Burden Emerging as a Vital Weapon for the Bears’ Offense
It wasn’t a hot start for Burden. In his first seven games, Burden had just one game with over 100 receiving yards (101 Week 3), and three games where he ended with negative receiving yards (-3 Week 1, -4 Week 4, -1 Week 7).
However, as he grew more comfortable in Ben Johnson’s offensive scheme and started to gain the trust of Caleb Williams, Burden finished second among all pass catchers in receiving yards (652) and first among all wide receivers.
“I’m super blessed,” Burden said when talking about the impact that he and fellow rookie Colston Loveland have brought to the team. “Me and Colston came here, and we set our goals and winning the division was one of them… I feel like coach [Ben Johnson] is getting us more involved and Caleb is doing a great job spreading the ball around. We’re just taking our opportunities and making the most of them.”
Now, he’ll be tasked with going up against the Rams’ secondary in what should be an exciting contest against a tough opponent.
Bears’ Luther Burden Comments on Punishment for Altercation vs. Packers