In a sport full of violent collisions, Jets safety Eric Smith leveled then-Cardinals receiver Anquan Boldin with one of the most brutal hits in recent NFL history in a game two years ago.
Smith and Boldin will renew acquaintances on Monday night when Boldin’s new team, Baltimore, visits the Jets. And Smith says he and Boldin have both moved past that nasty collision between the two of them, even as he blasts the one-game suspension and $50,000 fine that the NFL leveled on him.
“That was just -- we were both playing hard, and it was an unfortunate event,’' Smith said of the hit, per the Star Ledger. “It’s behind us now. I don’t think either one of us holds a grudge towards anybody.”
But Smith then added, about the punishment handed down by the league, “I thought it was pretty stupid.”
While Smith missed one game because of the suspension, Boldin surprisingly missed only two games despite needing surgery for facial fractures. Smith says he and Boldin have talked and that Boldin knows Smith wasn’t trying to hurt him.
“I don’t think he really has any bad feelings toward me,” Smith said. “I’m just going to go out there and compete -- he’s a guy that’s going to go hard every play. So that’s what I expect from him.’'
