Did Raiola 'Stomp' On Bears' Defenseman In Lions' Sunday Game?

By Christy Strawser, CBS Detroit

DETROIT (CBS Detroit) He says he didn't do it.

As the NFL's regular season wraps up, Lions center Dominic Raiola -- who's at the end of his contract with the Detroit Lions -- appeared to step, hard on the leg of Chicago Bears' defenseman Ego Ferguson.

Caught on tape, it happened during the third quarter of Detroit's 20-14 win over Chicago.

Raiola told reporters after the game he didn't do it on purpose, and he later apologized to Ferguson.

"He said that it was not intentional, that it was accidental," reported CBS Detroit's sideline reporter Tony Ortiz.

Ferguson briefly left the game, then returned. Afterward, he told reporters, per ESPN: "Y'all saw the play," Ferguson said. "I don't have to explain that. You need to stay in between the (whistles)."

Teammate Jaren Allen told reporters: "That's our guys' careers here. You can break someone's ankles."

How does Ortiz see it?

"I only saw it in replay," he said, "I'm mixed, I can see it both ways ..."

Without a doubt, Raiola will be fined, Ortiz said, but at question is whether he'll be suspended by the league.

A suspension could be the ignominious end to a long and storied career with the Lions. CBS Detroit's Ashley Dunkak reported last week that "of 1,696 players on 53-man rosters across the NFL, only 10 have played longer than Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola."

In her interviews with teammates, many called him the heart and soul of the Detroit Lions.

Also in Sunday's game, coach Jim Caldwell suspended the Lions' Joique Bell for the first quarter for "violating team rules." He did not disclose the issue.