During the fourth quarter of Sunday night’s playoff win over the Los Angeles Rams, Lions safety Kerby Joseph made a play against Rams tight end Tyler Higbee that resulted in Higbee tearing up his knee. Joseph dove at Higbee’s legs as the tight end tried to haul in a high throw over the middle from Rams QB Matthew Stafford.
After the play, Stafford got after Joseph. He told the young safety, whom he never played with in Detroit, that it was a dirty hit. Here’s what Stafford said to Joseph, via Rams Wire,
“Hey! Hey! That’s a good hit. That’s a good hit,” Stafford said. “You’re dirty as (expletive), though. And you know it. You’re dirty as (expletive). It’s been on tape. I’ve seen it. It’s been on tape. You’re right. You’re right.”
Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn wanted nothing to do with any assertions that Joseph’s hit was done with intent to injure.
“Absolutely not. This is football. This is football,” Glenn said agitatedly when asked if he thought the hit was dirty and if he needed to talk to Joseph about his style of play. “And I understand exactly what the NFL is doing when it comes to trying to – a player’s safety, and I totally agree with it. And the thing that he did against the Minnesota Vikings, he hit a guy high, and he got fined for it. So then he hits a guy low, and people are saying he’s a dirty player. Kerby plays football, and we’re going to continue to play football. And we don’t care what anybody else has to say.”
Glenn was just getting started.
“Listen, no one wants anybody to get hurt in this league. No one wants that. Hell, I was hurt in this League before, so I understand; I know how it feels. But I also understand I play football and when you play football, things like that happen. So, guys have got to continue to play no matter what. And it kind of bothers me that you hear that from people across the league because you know the risk you’re taking when you play this game and that’s just what it is.”