Quandre Diggs knew he was in the wrong.
The Seattle Seahawks safety was ejected from Sunday night’s 35-30 win over the New England Patriots after he leveled wide receiver N’Keal Harry with an illegal helmet-to-helmet hit.
Harry, who was not injured on the play, said Tuesday that Diggs reached out after the game to apologize. Harry appreciated the sentiment and accepted his mea culpa.
“He reached out, and he made it clear that he was not trying to hurt me and it was not intentional,” Harry said in a video conference. “When (the hit) happened, I didn’t think it was intentional either. I know that when you’re out on the field, stuff happens super, super quickly. So I never felt like it was intentional.
“I think it was just one of those football plays. So I had already kind of figured that he wasn’t trying to do that. Him reaching out definitely meant a lot in the same regard.”
Harry and Diggs later traded messages of support on social media.
Harry held on the ball through Diggs’ hit, which came on fourth-and-3 late in the first quarter. The second-year wideout stayed in the game and went on to post career highs in targets (12), catches (eight), yards (72), snaps (61) and play-time percentage (84.7).
Quarterback Cam Newton’s willingness to trust Harry in key situations was a positive development for New England’s top 2019 draft pick. Harry caught three passes on four targets for 42 yards on the Patriots’ ill-fated final drive, including a 12-yarder to the 1-yard line on the game’s penultimate play.
Diggs reportedly will not be suspended.
Thumbnail photo via Robert Hanashiro/USA TODAY Sports Images
