San Francisco 49ers offensive lineman Joe Looney denied intentionally trying to injure Minnesota Vikings defensive tackle Kevin Williams with a low block during Sunday's preseason game, ESPN reports.
Williams suffered a hyperextended knee, bone bruise and postular capsular strain. He left the field on his own power. The Vikings filed a complaint with the NFL, which reviewed the hit and ruled the hit not to be illegal.
Looney, a fourth-round rookie, insisted he "didn't try to take a dirty, cheap shot at him."
"I tried to find him after the game to apologize, to let him know I'm not that kind of player who's trying to hurt guys and maliciously take violent hits at people," Looney told CSNBayArea.com on Monday, via ESPN. "I've been injured myself. I know what it's like.
"... I'm not out on the field trying to hurt anybody. I hope Kevin is all right. I was just trying to do what I was coached and play 100 percent to the whistle. I'm just trying to make this team."
Vikings defensive end Jared Allen had another opinion.
"He had a perfect opportunity to hit him in the chest, but he intentionally went to his knee," Allen said. "We want to talk about protecting player safety and all that stuff? Well, I got fined for a hit up high [against Chicago last year] because they said I launched into a guy, right? If he hits Kevin in the chest, and something happens, that's part of it. But if you intentionally duck, and go to a guy's knee, I mean, it had no bearing on the play.
"You talk about player safety and wanting to protect us; how is Kevin not a defenseless player? It's just not what you do. ... I have a problem when we talk about player safety in this league, and we have a clear case of a guy trying to hurt a guy, and we do nothing about it. We pat them on the back and say it's OK."
The NFL told Vikings coach Leslie Frazier that Looney's block isn't "the type of play (we) want in the game for player safety reasons." The timetable for William's return is uncertain.
