Luke Kuechly will escape any further punishment for making contact with an official on Sunday.
NFL Media's Albert Breer reported Tuesday that the Carolina Panthers linebacker will not be fined for making contact with back judge Steve Freeman in the third quarter of the Panthers' 38-17 loss to the Green Bay Packers, according to a league source. Kuechly was ejected for his actions.
According to Breer, the NFL won't discipline Kuechly despite the fact that the league believes the referee was justified in his decision to disqualify the reigning Defensive Player of the Year. Kuechly contended he was not aware that an official was pulling at him from behind when he swung his arms back and contact occurred.
"To tell you the truth, I didn't know who was grabbing me," he said after the game, according to ESPN.com. "I was trying to get out of there a little bit. You've just got to stay calm in those situations and just walk away and let it take care of itself."
Carolina coach Ron Rivera disagreed with the ejection, and said there was "zero chance" his star defender would be fined for the incident. He was right.
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