I dunno. If the other player had the time to give a "what the shit?" shrug, I feel like it had to be at least long enough to be intentional.
And you can say that football players are dramatic with injury, but I'd expect to see more of a pained scream if that were the case.
Isn't the rule about hair not going past eyebrows or ear lobes? Every picture I've seen of this dude meets that requirement. I really don't understand the reasoning behind the violation?