Pittsburgh Steelers won’t lose draft pick for Mike Tomlin’s sideline incident

Nov 28, 2013; Baltimore, MD, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin watches from the sideline against the Baltimore Ravens on Thanksgiving at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mitch Stringer-USA TODAY Sports

The league will not further penalize the Pittsburgh Steelers for Mike Tomlin’s Thanksgiving night incident in which he was on the field and obstructed Ravens return man Jacoby Jones.

Tomlin was fined $100,000 after the incident, and there was speculation that the team would be penalized by losing a pick in the 2014 Draft. However, Steelers team president Art Rooney II announced today that the NFL informed him that the team will not be docked a selection in the draft, per Aaron Wilson of The Baltimore Sun. 

This announcement doesn’t come as a huge surprise, as the $100,000 is a substantial punishment to be handed down from the league. Tomlin did interfere, and Jones likely would have scored a touchdown if he hadn’t needed to swerve away from Tomlin, but this incident doesn’t compare to previous instances in which a draft pick has been docked, such as 2007’s Spygate.

In a rare season where both the Ravens and Steelers missed the playoffs, this Tomlin incident may give some needed fuel to the rivalry for 2014. This news is a break for the Steelers, who traditionally use the draft to build the core of their roster more than most teams. Even this offseason so far, the biggest free agency news in Pittsburgh was the team’s meeting with free agent RB Maurice Jones-Drew.