Matt LaFleur wasn’t happy with a rookie’s second ejection
Matt LaFleur had a somber press conference following a narrow defeat against the Detroit Lions. The Green Bay Packers made many mistakes on a night when the Lions were fighting hard to play spoiler against their divisional rival. One mistake was utterly unprovoked and cost the Packers in the second half.
Television cameras caught Packers rookie linebacker Quay Walker shoving a member of the Lions training staff. The staff member was giving aid to injured Lions player D’Andre Swift. The Packers were flagged for 5 yards, and Walker was ejected. The Lions’ drive ended in a touchdown. It was Walkers’ second ejection of the season. Following a shove of a Buffalo Bills practice squad player on the Bills sideline during an earlier Sunday Night Football game this season, Walker was ejected.
Matt LaFleur spoke about the incident following the loss to the Lions on Sunday night. He was agitated by the uncommon incident. According to Ari Meirov of My Sports Update, LaFleur said he took Walker’s actions personally:
“I have a much higher standard for our players than to do something silly like that. We’ve had a guy ejected twice. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that in my career. I take that very personally. It is unacceptable.”
#Packers HC Matt LaFleur on Quay Walker: "I have a much higher standard for our players than to do something silly like that. We've had a guy ejected twice. I don't think I've ever seen that in my career. I take that very personally. It is unacceptable." https://t.co/A1uybb3Say
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 9, 2023
Walker will have an offseason to think about his actions on the field this season. He’s a young player, and he was in the middle of an emotional game, and Walker made a mistake. Walker will need to work on developing the mental aspect of the game this offseason. The Packers know he’s a talented player. They need him on the field. But the ejections have to stop.
1 Comment
I love how nobody addresses the obvious that Walker was held down from getting up the first time and pushed first by a Detroit staff member who OBVIOUSLY wasn’t needed considering after the push he focuses on Walker and didn’t pay any mind to swift.
I think the NFL needs to address their staff members and tell them to keep their hands off opposing players for any reason at all