TJ Ward understands the rules of the NFL. The Cleveland Browns safety is well-aware that if he hits a player in the head, he will get find. However, if he hits a player in the knees, the opponent risks injury. That was the case on Sunday when a hit placed on New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski left him with a torn ACL and MCL. Ward was well-within the rules of the NFL with the hit, but that does not mean he feels good about it.
Gronkowski's season is over just as quickly as it began and Ward certainly feels good about it. The safety admits he was simply just trying to avoid getting hit with fines by the league and was not trying to intentionally injury a player.
"Gronk's a big dude," Ward said, via the Boston Herald. "He's not small by any means. If I would've hit him up high, there's a chance I was going to get a fine."
Ward hit the tight end at the knees after he brought in a pass from quarterback Tom Brady. The safety celebrated the play, but then realized that Gronkowski was not getting up. The result was Gronkowski getting carted off the field after not being able to put any pressure on his right leg. Ward believes that instances like this make the rules of the NFL very blurry.
"It's kind of being caught between a rock and a hard place," Ward said. "It's a decision you have to make, but you have to follow the rules at the same time. When they set the rule, everyone knew what was going to happen. This can happen if you have those types of situations. It's pretty much inevitable, and they forced our hand with this one."
Ward walked over and apologized to Gronkowski as he was getting carted off the field. The tight end sat out the first six weeks of the season while recovering from a broken arm and back injury. The knee issue is just another injury to add to the list of recent setbacks for the successful Patriots player.
"He's in a tough spot," Ward said. "I wouldn't expect him to be accepting, but I had to send that gesture regardless. I hope he heals right. But I've got to play football, man. I've got to play football."
It should be noted that Ward's hit did not draw a penalty and head coach Rob Chudzinski stressed that Ward was within NFL rules. The Cleveland safety has certainly fallen victim to questionable hits in the past, getting fined for two different helmet-to-helmet hits in recent memory.
