Jets' Minkah Fitzpatrick Fined by NFL for Illegal Hit That Injured Browns' KC Concepcion

New York Jets safety Minkah Fitzpatrick received a fine from the NFL for his hit on Cleveland Browns wide receiver KC Concepcion during a Week 5 matchup between the two teams.

In the first quarter of the game, Concepcion was hit hard by Fitzpatrick as he attempted to haul in a pass from Deshaun Watson. Fitzpatrick was flagged for unnecessary roughness on the play.

Concepcion exited the game following the hit and was later ruled out due to a head injury.

The Jets ended up winning the contest by the final score of 17-12.

Fitzpatrick, who finished with five tackles and one pass defended in the victory, discussed the hit on Thursday.

"It was a football play, in my opinion," Fitzpatrick told reporters. "Obviously, we don't like to see anybody get hurt. I'm happy to see that he's back out practicing this week. But in my opinion, it was a football play, a bang-bang play as their coach put it."

Immediately following the game, Browns head coach Todd Monken explained that he didn't believe Fitzpatrick's hit was dirty.

"That's just a bang-bang play," Monken said during his press conference. "Minkah has been in this league a long time. He's not a dirty player. I've never seen that out of him. It's a bang-bang play, and unfortunately it happened to our guy, and that's part of the league."

Browns offensive lineman Dawand Jones didn't appreciate the hit, however.

"I just told him that s--t's f--ked up. ... He just told me, 'It's football,' and I'm not down with that s--t," Jones told reporters. "That s--t's not football at that point."

Fitzpatrick is in the midst of his first season in New York after the team acquired him in a March trade with the Miami Dolphins. The five-time Pro Bowler has recorded 21 tackles, two passes defended and one interception across three games this year.

Concepcion is beginning his rookie campaign, as the Browns selected him with the No. 24 overall pick in the 2026 NFL draft. He was listed as a limited participant in practice on Wednesday and Thursday.

The 22-year-old has caught 18 passes for 149 yards across his first five games with Cleveland.