Mike Vrabel might have messed around and earned a fine on his day off.
The Tennessee Titans coach whose team was on a bye in Week 13 apparently spent his Sunday off watching football. Because that's what you do with your downtime if you're an NFL head coach.
He was definitely watching the Sunday night game between potential future playoff foe Kansas City Chiefs and the Denver Broncos. And he didn't like what he saw. His beef wasn't with either team, but with officials calling the game.
He took issue with officials determining that Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce didn't complete the process of a catching prior to losing control of the football early in the second quarter while the Chiefs led, 10-3. Kelce corralled a pass from Patrick Mahomes before Broncos cornerback Kyle Fuller punched it out. Officials ruled the play an incomplete pass and upheld the ruling upon review. The NFL officiating Twitter account explained that the pass was ruled incomplete "because the third element of a catch - time - was not met."
Vrabel wasn't satisfied with the explanation and responded via Twitter with a screenshot of an NFL rulebook definition of a catch that makes no mention of "time."
pic.twitter.com/eHBa6fVA1u
Vrabel clearly thinks the play should have resulted in a fumble and a turnover to the Broncos. Is it a coincidence that his 8-4 Titans are in a battle for playoff seeding with the Chiefs, who improved to 8-4 after beating the Broncos Sunday night?
Regardless, there's a chance Vrabel earned a fine for his veiled criticism of officiating on social media. There's precedent for players getting fined for directly criticizing officials on Twitter. Then-Los Angeles Rams linebacker Clay Matthews earned a $12,500 fine in 2019 for sharing his candid thoughts on NFL officiating.
The storyline for the 2019 season continues to be the refs inability to make the accurate and correct calls week in and week out. Al Riveron continues to blindly side with his refs and the current status quo. Something must change! Zero accountability. ...#throughthewire
Matthews, of course, took a more direct approach. He also used the word "blindly" while referencing the NFL's then-senior vice president of officiating. He was practically begging for a fine.
Vrabel simply tweeted a screenshot from the NFL rulebook. His intent was clear. But will the league determine that his low-key criticism is worthy of docking his paycheck?