Julio Jones' disastrous debut with the Tennessee Titans keeps getting worse.
NFL Network reported on Saturday that the future Hall-of-Famer has been docked more than $10,000 by the league office for an ugly unsportsmanlike conduct penalty in his new team's 38-13 Week 1 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.
The #NFL fined Julio Jones $10,815 for his unnecessary roughness penalty against the #Cardinals last week, per NFL Network. #Titans
— Paul Kuharsky (@PaulKuharskyNFL) September 18, 2021
The incident in question occurred midway through the first quarter, as Jones locked horns with Cardinals defensive back Byron Murphy on an otherwise routine run play by the Titans. When Murphy's hand-fighting moved upward toward Jones' neck, the latter reacted with multiple swings at his opponent's face—action that could have warranted an automatic ejection.
I finally found the Julio Jones unnecessary roughness foul. He took a swing at dude. Anyone else not named Julio wouldve been ejected for this. Super uncharacteristic of him. He’s better than that 🤦🏽♂️ pic.twitter.com/3nCgVh3XB3
— JazzyJeffRealTalk (@JazzyJeffRealT1) September 13, 2021
Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel hardly minced words when discussing Jones' penalty after the game.
“That's absolutely nothing that we coach or teach,” Vrabel said, per Nick Shook of NFL.com. “So, that would fall into the category of dumb s— that hurts the team, right there, in bold letters.”
Julio Jones, 32, was acquired by the Titans over the summer in exchange for second and fourth-round picks in the 2023 NFL draft. The seven-time Pro Bowler spent the first 10 seasons of his career with the Atlanta Falcons, quickly establishing himself as one of the most dynamic players in football after being selected sixth overall in 2011.
Jones had three catches for 29 yards on six targets in the season-opener. Tennessee will square off with the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field at 1:00 p.m. EST on Sunday.
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