If a person was looking for a sports play that fits the cliche “adding insult to injury,” then San Francisco 49ers tight end Jake Tonges just offered the perfect example.
On Saturday, the NFL announced fines from the first week of games and hit Tonges with a $9,266 fine for a leg whip tackle. The NFL says that play happened with 2:43 left in the second quarter of the 49ers’ rout of the Rams in Australia — the exact one where Tonges suffered a season-ending injury.
On that play, Tonges started in the backfield and came across the formation to try and block Rams defensive end Myles Garrett. As Tonges went down into a block, Garrett stepped to his side and Tonges hit Garrett with his leg. It didn’t really impede Garrett on the play, and Tonges wasn’t penalized for it on the field, but the NFL apparently felt it was worth a punishment more than a week after the game.
Tonges was immediately writhing in pain after the moment and never returned to game action. After a medical evaluation, the 49ers said Tonges tore the MCL in his right knee. The former Los Gatos High School star has already had surgery to fix the ligament.
There could be good news for Tonges, though, as a new NFL player-safety mechanism could get him a refund. About a month ago, the league and player’s union announced an updated system for “on-field accountability” that gives players a chance to get some money back if they commit just one offense. Any player who appeals their fine and only commits one violation during a season could receive a 50% refund at the end of the season for five specific violations the league is trying to bar (like hip-drop tackles) and a full, 100% refund for the rest of the on-field rules.
Tonges, given his injury, won’t commit another offense all season, so the fine could be a moot point. But it surely was not fun for him to find out about the fine while he’s recovering from surgery.