Bryce Treggs was obviously kidding. He's not going to start a GoFundMe page.
The Eagles' 23-year-old receiver went to Twitter on Monday afternoon in an attempt to add some levity to a situation that left Damarious Randall with a concussion and Treggs with what might be a big dent in his wallet.
Treggs was fined $25,000 for a block in the first preseason game against the Packers. On the block, Treggs ended up taking out Randall, who was concussed on the play.
"I expected [the fine] after," Treggs said Tuesday. "In the game, I didn't. Because there were refs there and in real time, full speed, they thought it wasn't an illegal block. So I wasn't expecting a fine because of that. I think that shows as much about my intention. I think it would have been clear right in front of the umpire if I led with my head. I was trying to hit him in the shoulder. Target area moved a little too high.
"If you watch the film, I originally did hit him in his shoulder and that's when his head came down. It was kind of like a whiplash effect. That's when his head bucked back. I'm just trying to get a job, just trying to make a team, put some good stuff on film. There was no malicious or dirty intent with the block."
While Treggs was joking on Twitter about starting a GoFundMe page, he did bring up a pretty good point about fines for players on roster bubbles. Treggs made $450,000 last year before taxes, which sounds like a pretty good salary — and it is. But if this fine stands, it will take away 5.5 percent of his pre-tax earnings from his rookie season.
And it could be even worse. The Packers also asked the NFL about the hit Eagles rookie Tre Sullivan put on receiver Malachi Dupre in that same game. Sullivan wasn't fined; he approached his locker cautiously after the game hoping to not see a letter from the league. For an undrafted player who has made just whatever his signing bonus and offseason with the team paid, a big fine could almost put him in a hole before his professional career really ever begins.
NFL
Perhaps there needs to be some sort of sliding scale for fines, especially in the preseason. But there isn't and there won't be for a while, at least until the current CBA wraps up.
For now, Treggs is doing the only thing he can: appealing.
"I think that's what the appeal process is for," Treggs said. "You can say it's an excessive fine, the fine shouldn't have been [that much]. I've got the letter right here. I'll send it to my agent, who's going to handle the process."
Treggs also said some teammates have volunteered to help pay the fine. Some of them even told him before the letter came in that if he were fined, "they've got my back."
There seems to be a decent chance that Treggs will make the Eagles' roster again this season, but he's clearly on the bubble. He had a great preseason opener, grabbing seven catches, but missed the second preseason game with sore legs. He finally practiced again Tuesday.
Since he sent it out on Monday afternoon, Treggs has actually deleted the tweet announcing the fine and his joking ambition to start a GoFundMe page. A response from Randall, who was on the receiving end of the block, hasn't been erased: "Yo broke ass shouldn't play dirty then."
"I'm not really worried about [Randall]," Treggs said. "He can say whatever he wants. I know I always leave stuff out there on the field. If we play them again, and he's in that same position, I'll make that same block again, but just have a lower target area."