Lions' Dominic Raiola suspended for stomping Bears player

Detroit Lions center Dominic Raiola has been suspended for one game after he stomped on Bears defensive tackle Ego Ferguson on Sunday.

The punishment was handed down by Merton Hanks, the NFL's vice president of football operations, comes following Raiola's sixth rules violation related to player safety.

You can see the stomp here. FOX Sports NFL rules analyst Mike Pereira explains why he thinks the suspension was merited in the video above from Sunday.

The Lions play the Green Bay Packers in the season finale Sunday with the NFC North division title at stake. Raiola can appeal the suspension, but until then he cannot attend team meetings, practices nor have any contact other than that related to offsite medical care. FOX Sports 1 NFL insider Mike Garafolo reported that Raiola was expected to appeal:

If Raiola does not file or does not win his appeal, rookie Travis Swanson would likely start in his place in the biggest game of the Lions' season.

Ferguson's teammate, Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall, ripped the one-game suspension and Raiola in his ESPN radio show Monday.

"One game, one game, one game? That's terrible," Marshall said. "I don't even know Ego's injury. Is he OK? What if he broke it? What if he broke his ankle? If he breaks Ego's ankle, and Ego never plays again, how much money does that guy miss out on? This is what he does for a living. This is what he's done all his life. He's what, 22, 23? He doesn't even know his purpose yet. He doesn't even know what he's gonna do after football. He's still figuring out what life is about.

"It's terrible. It should not be allowed. It's ridiculous. He shouldn't be allowed in the NFL. He should be banned from the NFL. A couple years ago, you guys know that I advocate for mental health. So two years ago ... see, a lot of people [ask], why do you call Detroit [Chicago's] little brother? I apologize again, Detroit. I retract that statement. But I was really mad at him because in the game, I'm just warming up, I'm just standing there. He's like, 'Go take your medicine. Go do this you freaking weirdo, you freaking crazy guy. Go take your medicine.' Before the game... like, bro, we play football and I understand we're rivals, but at the end of the day, this is a brotherhood. We're all men here. This is only a platform for us to be better. You're sitting here being defined by this sport.

"But this guy is a dirty player, and he's a worse human being. He has no respect for himself, and [a] one game [suspension] is freaking terrible. This was clear. This was clear. This guy literally jumped and stomped on this guy's ankle. And we give him one game? A game that means nothing to them; means nothing to them."

Lions coach Jim Caldwell said he spoke with Raiola on Monday about the incident.

"Obviously, I took a good look at it, both the coaches and also the television copy as well," Caldwell said earlier Monday. "I believe what Dom told me, that it was inadvertent, but I can also see why obviously it's being reviewed by the league and everybody's taking a real good look at it. You can also see the other side of that, as well."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.