On Sunday Dolphins safety Tyrone Culver delivered a huge hit to Bills receiver Stevie Johnson, knocking Johnson’s helmet off and getting an unsportsmanlike conduct flag. Now Culver will pay for it.
Culver has been fined $20,000 for the hit, which the NFL considers to have been to the head and neck area of a defenseless receiver. For his part, Culver said he didn’t do anything dirty.
“I’m just going out there and playing aggressive,” Culver told Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post. “You never want to see anybody get hurt.”
Culver said he doesn’t plan to stop delivering hard hits on the field.
“You’ve just got to continue to make big hits,” Culver said. “If you see guys getting hit, it might be in the back of your mind, and that’s always going to help us.”
For an NFL safety, there are worse things than earning a reputation as a guy who tries to take receivers’ heads off.