As we reported this morning, Dolphins tight end Dustin Keller will miss the entire season with a knee injury he suffered last night against the Texans, after taking a hit to the knee from Texans’ rookie safety D.J. Swearinger.
Ironically, if not for NFL and NCAA rules on hits to the head area, Keller would probably be preparing for practice today instead of ACL surgery.
Immediately after the game, Swearinger told the Palm Beach Post that he hit Keller low to avoid a fine.
“I was making a hit playing football,” Swearinger said, via Andrew Abramson of thePalm Beach Post. “In this league you’ve got to go low. If you go high you’re going to get a fine. . . .
“The rules say you can’t hit high so I went low and I’m sorry that happened. I would think you’d rather have more concussions than leg injuries. Leg injury, you can’t come back from that. A concussion, you be back in a couple in a couple of weeks.”
We are all aware of the damage that consistent hits to the head can cause the brain, but I’m sure if we took a poll of 100 NFL players, 80% would rather take a big hit to the chest, shoulder, or head area, than risk knee or leg damage.