Brandon Meriweather still just doesn’t get it.
A day after serving his one-game suspension for multiple hits the head and less than a week after having that punishment trimmed in half, Meriweather still sounds like a guy who doesn’t understand the concept behind player safety.
The Redskins safety returned from his ban on Monday and spent a few minutes answering questions from the media. During the conversation, his history of vicious hits to the head, which has also cost him over $100,000 in fines throughout his career, came to the forefront, causing Meriweather to defend his style of play.
“They told me to use my shoulder. I use my shoulder. I still get fined. They still say I use my head,” Meriweather said, per the Washington Times. “If anybody go look at the tape, I didn’t use my head in any of the hits. I’m moving on from it.”
Meriweather seems to understand that head hunting is no longer an acceptable practice, though, and that he needs to adjust his strategy. Only that new strategy may be even more problematic.
“To be honest, man, you’ve just got to go low now, man,” Meriweather said. “You’ve got to end people’s careers, you know? You’ve got to tear people’s ACLs and mess up people’s knees now. You can’t hit them high no more. You’ve just got to go low.”
After his pseudo safety symposium, Meriweather was also asked about the pointed comments that Bears receiver Brandon Marshall made about him after the safety laid him out last week. The former Pro Bowl safety shot back with some pretty direct comments of his own about Marshall.
“Everybody got their opinion,” Meriweather said. “He feel like I need to be kicked out of the league? You know, I feel like people who beat their girlfriends should be kicked out the league, too.”
Marshall was the subject of a civil suit earlier in his career, accusing him of abusing an ex-girlfriend. The case was eventually dismissed, and Marshall was cleared of any wrongdoing. Although, Meriweather doesn’t seem to keen on acknowledging that fact.
“So, you tell me who you’d rather have: Somebody who play aggressive on the field, or somebody who beat up their girlfriend? You know, everybody got their opinion, so that’s mine, that’s his.”
Meriweather, 29, is expected to be back on the field for the Redskins on Sunday when they welcome Philip Rivers and the Chargers to town. He’s totaled 24 tackles and two personal foul penalties in five games this season.
Have a question for Luke Hughes? Send it to him via Twitter at @LukeFHughes or send it here
