Vikings' Williams questions $20K fine for roughing the passer call

Minnesota Vikings linebacker Antwione Williams received a $20,054 fine for putting his body weight on a quarterback - a new addition to the roughing the passer penalty - after sacking Jacksonville Jaguars pivot Cody Kessler last weekend, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

Williams took to Twitter on Thursday after being handed the fine to share his displeasure:

Really got fined today for this 3/4 smh https://t.co/bfoXzCtsLI

- Antwione Williams (@twanyouafool) August 23, 2018

The new rule has been coined the "Aaron Rodgers Rule," because it was created, in part, as a result of the hit that Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr dished out on the Green Bay Packers quarterback last season. Rodgers would miss all but one of the Packers' final 10 games in 2017 due to a shoulder injury.

The rule states:

A rushing defender is prohibited from committing such intimidating and punishing acts as "stuffing" a passer into the ground or unnecessarily wrestling or driving him down after the passer has thrown the ball, even if the rusher makes his initial contact with the passer within the one-step limitation provided for in (a) above. When tackling a passer who is in a defenseless posture (e.g., during or just after throwing a pass), a defensive player must not unnecessarily or violently throw him down or land on top of him with all or most of the defender's weight. Instead, the defensive player must strive to wrap up the passer with the defensive player's arms and not land on the passer with all or most of his body weight.

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