The NFL made it a point of emphasis to curb the use of the helmet as a weapon this offseason, in doing so passing new rules that would in theory help to discourage such practices. One of the methods by which they went about doing this was in loosening the standards for which an illegal hit would warrant an ejection.
And evidently the first ‘victim’ of this tighter enforcement was former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Shamarko Thomas, who was ejected from his game last night with the Indianapolis Colts following a helmet hit to the helmet of a Seattle Seahawks wide receiver.