The NFL has suspended Los Angeles Rams left tackle Alaric Jackson for two games after he punched Buffalo Bills outside linebacker Bradley Chubb on the field following Monday night’s overtime game at SoFi Stadium, via NFL insider Aaron Wilson.
The incident occurred moments after the Bills secured a 37-34 victory, when players from both teams lingered near midfield exchanging jerseys and conversation.
Jackson, who had already removed his shoulder pads and jersey, approached Chubb, exchanged words, and threw a right-handed punch that connected with the Bills pass rusher’s face and knocked off his hat.
Teammates, including Rams tight end Colby Parkinson, quickly intervened to separate the players. Chubb later described the moment as the product of raw emotion after a tightly contested game, noting that he deliberately chose not to retaliate because “they always catch the second guy.”
Video of the confrontation circulated widely and drew immediate attention from the league.
Jackson’s punishment aligns with recent precedent. Last season, Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch received a one-game suspension for striking a Kansas City Chiefs player after a game.
Given that Jackson’s punch was captured clearly and occurred well after the final whistle, a multi-game ban was widely anticipated. The suspension will keep the 28-year-old out for the Rams’ next two contests, against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 6 and the Las Vegas Raiders in Week 7.
The timing is especially damaging for Los Angeles. Jackson has started all five games this season at left tackle and ranks among the league’s better performers at the position according to Pro Football Focus.
An undrafted free agent out of Iowa in 2021, he developed into a reliable blindside protector for Matthew Stafford, earning a three-year, $57 million contract before the 2025 season after the Rams previously used a second-round tender on him.
His absence forces the Rams, now 2-3, to reshuffle an offensive line that has already faced questions about depth.
The punch also arrives while Jackson remains under league scrutiny for other matters. In June he was arrested on suspicion of felony domestic violence; the case was later directed into a pre-filing diversion program that includes probation and anger-management requirements, and no criminal charges were filed.
Separately, he served a two-game suspension to open the 2024 season for a personal-conduct violation tied to allegations that he recorded a sexual encounter without consent—an allegation that later surfaced in a civil lawsuit that was ultimately dismissed.
The NFL has not yet issued a final ruling on the domestic-violence matter, leaving open the possibility of further discipline.
For now, the immediate consequence is clear: the Rams will be without their starting left tackle for the next two weeks while the league continues to monitor a player whose on-field performance has outpaced a growing list of off-field issues.
