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A hit from Texans rookie safety D.J. Swearinger has apparently ended the season of Dolphins tight end Dustin Keller.

But Swearinger suggested that he might not have hit Keller as low as he did if not for the league’s emphasis on hits to the head.

“I was making a hit playing football,” Swearinger said, via Andrew Abramson of the Palm Beach Post. “In this league you’ve got to go low. If you go high you’re going to get a fine. . . .

“The rules say you can’t hit high so I went low and I’m sorry that happened. I would think you’d rather have more concussions than leg injuries. Leg injury, you can’t come back from that. A concussion, you be back in a couple in a couple of weeks.”

Well, except for the possible long-ranging effects of what’s referred to medically as mild traumatic brain trauma, that might be the case.

Swearinger’s attitude might not be particularly enlightened, but it is real, and he’s not the only player who puts a higher value on limbs than brains.