Packers' Martellus Bennett fined for defending Aaron Rodgers; Seahawks' Jeremy Lane not fined
— -- GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Defending Aaron Rodgers cost Martellus Bennett $9,115.
The Green Bay Packers tight end was fined by the NFL for his unnecessary roughness penalty in Sunday's regular-season opener against Seattle. But Seahawks cornerback Jeremy Lane, who was ejected from the game, was not docked any money.
Bennett came to the defense of his quarterback. He took exception to Seahawks linebacker K.J. Wright's tackle on Rodgers' fourth-quarter scramble for a first down. Rodgers did not slide and Wright tackled him. Bennett gave Wright a two-handed shove.
"It's my quarterback," Bennett said after the game. "I've always got his back. It's a bad penalty at that moment in time, but I thought it was a cheap shot. I saw him out of my peripheral, which isn't the best all the time. I always protect the quarterback. I'll never let anybody take a cheap shot on my guy. That's any guy on the team. I've got everybody's back."
Rodgers said he appreciated Bennett coming to his defense.
"It meant a lot to me; it really did," Rodgers said. "Any time your teammates do something [like] that, it's special."
Lane was ejected for an altercation with Packers receiver Davante Adams during the first quarter after officials said Lane threw a punch.
"I didn't see the punch at all," Seahawks coach Pete Carroll said. "I'm disappointed that play would have such a magnitude on the game. ... I'm anxious to hear how the league tells us how that went and what should happen there."
