Savage Surprised By Cheap-Shot Allegation

Washington's Derrius Guice suffered a season-ending injury on a tackle by Green Bay's Darnell Savage

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Washington Redskins running back Derrius Guice exploded through a hole and broke into the clear, finally chopped down at the knees by Green Bay Packers safety Darnell Savage.

It was a gain of 23 yards – and the final play of Guice’s season.

Guice stayed on the Lambeau Field turf for a few minutes before limping off the field. Guice, a second-round pick in 2018, missed his entire rookie season with a torn ACL and eight more games this season following surgery on a torn meniscus. Now, he’ll miss the rest of this season with an MCL injury.

“It was a cheap shot,” Guice said in a now-deleted tweet.

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That comment was news to Savage.

“He said that?” Savage said on Wednesday.

“I didn’t know about that,” he added. “I try to stay off all that social media stuff. I’m sure you guys knew this but I’m not a dirty player. In my career, I’ve never done anything to hurt somebody. That’s unfortunate it happened. I actually told a couple of my teammates, ‘I hope he’s good’ after the play happened. If he feels that way, it is what it is.”

The ACL injury was to Guice’s left knee. The meniscus injury was to Guice’s right knee. This injury was to the left knee.

Savage seemed legitimately taken aback by the accusation. With the NFL cracking down on helmet-to-helmet hits, defenders are forced to go low on ball-carriers. Besides, going low is the only place to go against a runner as physical as the 225-pound Guice.

“It’s unfortunate that it happened,” Savage said. “He’s a great back and I know he’s battled with some injuries, but when you’re out there on the field, I’m not targeting a guy because of injuries.”