Brandon Meriweather to be fined

Washington Redskins safety Brandon Meriweather will be fined, but not suspended, for his helmet-to-helmet hit Sunday that knocked Green Bay Packers running back Eddie Lacy out of the game with a concussion, sources told ESPN.

Meriweather wasn't penalized during the game for the hit on Lacy.

Meriweather suffered a concussion himself later in the game when he led with his helmet to try to tackle Packers running back James Starks. A flag wasn't thrown on that play, either.

Meriweather has a history of fines for illegal hits. While a member of the New England Patriots, he was fined $50,000 in 2010 (later reduced to $40,000 on appeal) for hits against defenseless receivers. In 2011, when he was with the Chicago Bears, he was fined $20,000 for a helmet-to-helmet hit and $25,000 for unnecessary roughness.

Redskins coach Mike Shanahan was asked Monday whether he thought the two plays involving Meriweather were legal hits.

"To be honest with you, on the first one it looked like the running back was kind of going downhill, and when Brandon went for the tackle it looked to me like it was perfect and then all of a sudden when [Lacy] ducked his head, I couldn't tell -- I didn't see the TV copy, I just saw the video -- and that's exactly where the contact was," Shanahan said.

"The second one on the sidelines, that's what you're supposed to do. That's a legal hit," he said.

Shanahan said Meriwether was undergoing tests for his concussion and that the Redskins would have a better idea of how he's doing on Wednesday.

Lacy's status for the Packers' Week 3 game against the Cincinnati Bengals was unclear. Packers coach Mike McCarthy said Monday he wouldn't have an update on Lacy's condition until Wednesday.

McCarthy also was asked about Meriweather's hits during the game.

"The Washington safety definitely led with his helmet, so I know that's not what we're looking for," he said, adding later on Meriweather's hit to Starks: "Same thing, different result."


(espn.com)