Buffalo Bills fans took a collective gasp when Cleveland Browns safety Tashaun Gipson hit quarterback EJ Manuel at the knees during Thursday night's game. Manuel was unable to finish the game, but thankfully was able to walk off the field on his own power. As of now the injury is being ruled a knee sprain, but the Bills will have the rookie undergo an MRI as a precautionary measure.
After the game, Gipson said he had no intentions of hurting Manuel and was simply just trying to make a play. According to the Willoughby News-Herald, Gipson said he was not a dirty player and never tries to hurt anyone intentionally, but sometimes there are the things that happen.
"First and foremost, it's the game of football," Gipson said, via ESPN.com. "Things like that happen. I definitely don't intentionally try to hurt anybody. I wouldn't dare do that. I'm not that kind of player. It's the game of football. Our QB took a shot. Their QB took a shot. Not to say that we were trying to go one for one, but it's the game of football. He's running around on the sidelines. He could have gotten out of bounds. He didn't. So it's my job to bring the ball carrier down."
The safety is right, Manuel could have run out of bounds. The injury occurred as the mobile quarterback was attempting to scramble for extra hards before going out of bounds, but Gipson put the hit on before Manuel could make the move. Head coach Doug Marrone notes that Manuel is a tough player and he would never tell him to not try and score. He did not comment on whether or not he believed the hit to be illegal or not.
One person not thrilled with Gipson's supposed clean hit is Bills center Eric Wood. He is not too happy with the way the Browns conducted themselves last night during the game. After claiming Cleveland safety TJ Ward yelled they were "going to get him" towards Manuel, the center is slamming the team as classless for the hit they eventually did place on Manuel.
"The hit was fine," Wood said, via ESPN.com. "What ticked me off was the way [the Browns] acted afterwards. I hope our defense never acts that way when they injure an opposing quarterback. You have to show some class in that situation."
Marrone continues to defend his quarterback's decision, but if there really is damage done to Manuel's knee, it could be a move that haunts the organization for years. For now, all signs point to Manuel returning next week.
