Aug 16, 2025; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; General view of a New York Jets helmet prior to the game against the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Rich Barnes-Imagn Images Rich Barnes-Imagn Images

Jets Starter's Struggles Continue With $11k Fine

Originally posted on New York Jets on SI
By Patrick McAvoy | Last updated Oct 26, 2025 8:48 AM ET

The New York Jets are preparing to take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday and one of the team's starters just can't seem to catch a break.

The National Football League announced its fines for the week on Saturday afternoon and Jets guard John Simpson popped up on the list and was fined $11,593 for unnecessary roughness last week against the Carolina Panthers.

This is the first time this season that Simpson popped up on the NFL's weekly "Gameday Accountability" list with a fine. He also was the only member of the Jets to crack the list after facing off against the Panthers last week. New York actually hasn't been fined too much this season. Will McDonald was fined after Week 1, no one made the list Week 2, Quinnen Williams made the list twice after Week 3, Jamien Sherwood was fined after Week 4, no one was on the list Week 5, Andrew Beck and Francisco Mauigoa were fined last week, and Simpson was the lone one this week.

John Simpson has had some bad luck this season

So far this season, Simpson hasn't had the season that he likely wanted to have. He currently has a 50.4 overall Pro Football Focus rating heading into Week 8, which puts him 60th among the 78 qualified guards in the league. What's more of a concern is that he is among the most penalized offensive linemen in football so far this season. Plus, ESPN's Rich Cimini shared that he's actually leading offensive linemen in penalty yardage this season.

"G John Simpson was fined $11,593 for illegal roughness (face mask) last week vs Carolina. Simpson has the most penalty yardage among all NFL offensive linemen," Cimini said.

The fine isn't great for him, but penalties are more of a concern heading into Week 8 against the Cincinnati Bengals. The Football Database confirmed Cimini's point and has Simpson listed as the offensive lineman with the most penalty yards at 57 . The Jets are going to need the offensive line to step up to help Justin Fields and the running game with the wide receiver room decimated by injuries. Losing over $11,000 isn't great, but there's more going on as well.

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This article first appeared on New York Jets on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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