DJ Wonnum's Fine Is a Warning Shot for the Lions Defense

Lions fans, the bye week is supposed to be quiet, but the league office had other ideas.

Our Take: Two hip-drop fines in two weeks is a pattern, and with suspensions now on the table, this defense has to clean up its tackling before it costs us a player in a big game.

The NFL fined defensive end DJ Wonnum $12,611 for a hip-drop tackle on Cardinals quarterback Jacoby Brissett, according to Pride of Detroit's Jeremy Reisman. No flag was thrown on the play live. It comes a week after linebacker Jack Campbell was fined $15,930 for the same infraction against Carolina.

The bigger issue is the new rule this season. A hip-drop tackle is one of five "major" fouls, along with horse collar tackles, launching, hits on a defenseless player and blindside blocks. Per Pride of Detroit, players who commit three offenses in those categories during a season are suspended for one game, while a player with only one violation gets half his fine back at season's end. No other Lions were fined for the Arizona game. The timing stings: Wonnum had two sacks in the 45-21 win and has five through five games, per Yahoo Sports.

What to watch: whether Wonnum and Campbell adjust how they finish tackles when the Packers come to Ford Field on Oct. 25. One more of these each, and they're one strike from sitting.

Sources: [Pride of Detroit](https://www.prideofdetroit.com/detroit-lions-news/177299/detroit-lions-dj-wonnum-latest-fine-could-suspension-hip-drop), [Yahoo Sports](https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/nfl-fines-detroit-lions-defensive-203143009.html)