After we passed along the report that the Saints kept a bounty ledger that included a $1,000 payment for a “cart-off” against the Giants in 2009, we heard from readers who mentioned that Giants offensive tackle Kareem McKenzie was carted off the field in the 2009 game at New Orleans.
However, McKenzie did not appear to be hurt on any type of dirty play from any Saints player.
McKenzie left the Saints game with a groin injury that he suffered on a play when Eli Manning was sacked and fumbled, and although several contemporaneous accounts mention how hard Manning was hit on the play, none of the accounts we’ve found indicated that there was anything untoward about the way McKenzie was hurt.
A New York Times report said that “McKenzie remained on the field, and then was helped off on a motorized cart by the medical staff.” A New York Post report said that “McKenzie was injured in the scrum to recover Eli Manning’s fumble.” An Associated Press report said, “He was hurt on a play in which Eli Manning was sacked.” No mention anywhere of any indication that anyone on the Saints did anything to cause McKenzie’s injury.
If the $1,000 notation in the bounty ledger was for McKenzie getting carted off, it’s not clear which Saints player would have received the bounty payment. But it doesn’t appear that the Saints took a cheap shot at McKenzie.
