All it took was seven weeks for Micah Parsons to be in the Green Bay Packers before controversies caught up. On one hand, in the team’s Week 7 clash vs the Arizona Cardinals, Parsons had his best game, recording five tackles, four tackles for loss, and a season-high three sacks. However, with 8:24 remaining in the second quarter, a banned play now sees him on the cusp of significant financial repercussions.

Notably, at the Cardinals’ 25-yard line while the two teams were going 3-3, the defensive end was penalized for Unnecessary Roughness. He had reportedly used the banned hip drop tackle on quarterback Jacoby Brissett. If not for the penalty, it would’ve been his second sack of the game. Instead, the refs wiped out the play with a 15-yard penalty, handing the Cardinals a first down at their own 40-yard line. Arizona made the most of the opportunity, driving down the field to kick a field goal and trim the Packers’ lead to 6-3. For context, the league officially banned the hip-drop tackle in March 2024, making the call a tough break for Parsons.

But, what does a hip drop tackle even mean? As per the NFL, this specific type of tackle occurs when “a defender wraps up a ball carrier and rotates or swivels his hips, unweighting himself and dropping onto ball carrier’s legs during the tackle”, and are penalized with a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down. Not just that, a quick visit to the league’s Gameday Accountability website tells us that such moves can incur $16,883-$22,511 fines depending on the number of times a player has committed it.

In fact, in Week 6 itself, Cardinals’ Akeem Davis-Gaither was penalized $17,389 for a hip drop tackle on the Indianapolis Colts’ wide receiver Anthony Gould. New York Giants safety Tyler Nubin was fined $$10,324, while New York Jets’ Francisco Mauigoa was handed a $5,215 penalty.

Having said that, it’s still unclear the exact fine Micah will face, one thing’s for sure: the refs just gave him another call he definitely didn’t want.

“It’s just one of them things,” Micah said on Thursday, via Bill Huber of SI. “Five years of not getting a call, you eventually stop worrying about it. I think I just got to keep going. That’s the hunt. That’s part of the challenge is you just got to keep going.

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“And that’s bothersome. That worries them. They know that. That’s the part of being one of the best. That comes with some territory, parts that you hate and the parts that the league lets go.”

That said, as the Packers look to improve to 4-1-1, some beat writers have questioned the call against Green Bay, while others expect Parsons to be hit with a fine.

Micah Parsons gains favor

After the refs flagged Micah Parsons, a few beat writers questioned the call, wondering how Micah was even supposed to make that tackle in the first place.

“I understand the emphasis on taking the hip-drop tackle out of the game,” Zach Jacobson of 247 Sports wrote. “With that being said, how else is Micah Parsons supposed to make that tackle? or any defender, for that matter? what are they supposed to do in that situation?”

The decision is still up in the air. Long story short: While Micah Parsons has already expressed his frustrations over officiating, it’d be intriguing to see how the NFL hits back. For now, nothing is certain.