Browns' JT Hassell Fined Over $28K for Unnecessary Roughness in Preseason Game

Play stupid games, win stupid prizes.

Cleveland Browns safety JT Hassell was fined for $28,075 for unnecessary roughness after he was flagged for lowering his helmet while on punt coverage in a preseason matchup against Indianapolis Colts running back Nyheim Hines. There wasn't much to argue over with this one.

#Browns S J.T. Hassell was fined $28,075 for unnecessary roughness in last week’s preseason game. He was flagged for lowering the helmet on punt coverage to hit #Colts RB Nyheim Hines, who was shaken up. That rule continues to be an area of emphasis.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) August 25, 2019

Lowering the helmet is always a stupid move to begin with, but to do it in a meaningless preseason game is downright ridiculous. These are exhibition matchups that have no meaning save for making roster decisions and executing the most basic elements of the playbook.

There's little point in delivering the ultimate hit when a regular tackle would suffice.

He's shown plenty of promise for the Browns heading into the regular season, but it seems as though he could stand to clean up his game a bit.

Holy pick by J.T. Hassell ?#BrownsCamp pic.twitter.com/WkeTxLYe0d
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) August 21, 2019

It's especially important to condemn vicious acts like this on the gridiron and raise awareness about the brutal nature of the game of football. The NFL just lost one of it's brightest stars in Andrew Luck to retirement because of the ridiculous amount of injuries he sustained while playing, after all.

Hopefully, the fine will deter Hassell from engaging in similar actions in the future. He's only set to earn a base salary of $495,000 this year, so this fine was a decently sized chunk of change for the rookie defensive back.