Jahleel Addae dropped to one knee Sunday, head bowed in prayer.

He walked to Cecil Shorts III soon before the Tampa Bay wide receiver was carted off Jack Murphy Field, wishing him well. After the game, he exchanged private social-media messages with Shorts to reiterate his support. On Monday morning, he publicly offered empathy, announcing on Twitter he was praying for Shorts and there were “no bad intentions at all.”

Still, he was not done.

The hard-hitting Chargers safety stood outside the team facility Monday afternoon, considering what to do next.


“I actually live in Tampa,” he said, “so when I go to Tampa probably in the offseason, if he’s out there, I’m going to stop in and check on him, see how he’s doing.”

Addae did not want to injure Shorts.

He played how he believes the NFL wants.

There have been numerous instances in Addae’s career in which his physicality has led to injury — be it to opponents, teammates or to himself. That same style of play has drawn multiple league fines, costing him tens of thousands of dollars, and penalties that have hurt his team. So, rather than go high with a first-quarter shot on Shorts in a 28-21 loss Sunday afternoon, he went low.


The result was dismaying.

Shorts was diagnosed Monday with a significant injury. He reportedly suffered a dislocated knee, a torn anterior cruciate ligament, a torn medial collateral ligament and torn posterior cruciate ligament.

For Addae, it’s a catch-22.

This was a hit, he said, he wouldn’t have delivered as a rookie in 2013. Likewise, he wouldn’t have gone low this way in 2014, 2015 or even three months ago at the start of this season. But in Week 2, he suffered a broken clavicle on a sideline impact that cost him eight games.


The injury offered him time to reflect on how he hits in the open field, perhaps the signature aspect of his game.

“It’s tough,” Addae said. “Obviously, I feel bad for the guy. I prayed for him, and I went and talked to him, let him know that I hope everything is well. But the proof is in the pudding: I’ve been fined plenty of times. Every time I get fined, they tell me I need to lower my target. I’m pretty sure that a guy would rather get hit in the chest and hit in the head and be out for a month than what happened to Cecil.

“They say go for the mid-section, but the target lowers and you can possibly have your helmet hit his helmet, and it’s a fine, and it’s a flag. I’m hurting my pockets, and I’m hurting my team. And then, when I go low, some classify it as ‘dirty.’ It’s a lose-lose situation. … I deliberately did not go high because of my past.”

The hit occurred on the Buccaneers’ opening possession.


Addae was a single-high safety in zone coverage when Shorts broke inside of cornerback Trevor Williams, catching a Jameis Winston pass. Addae was the last line of the defense. He had to be quick. He had to be decisive. He was both, closing down on Shorts while dipping his left shoulder into the receiver’s lower right leg.

Ideally, Shorts would topple safely over Addae. Then, he’d jump to his feet, and he’d play the next down.

But his right foot caught in the turf just as Addae crashed into him. Shorts’ knee broke multiple laws of physics, twisting all out of sorts. A long recovery is ahead, the injury surely threatening Shorts’ readiness for the start of the 2017 season.

Again, Addae insists this is not what he wanted.


His actions since the injury add weight to his words.

“It was such a freak injury, just like my injury (in Week 2),” Addae said. “I just pray he gets back to 100 percent, a speedy recovery.”

While there have been times the Chargers have wanted to see more measuredness from Addae’s hit stick, they would not change the intensity with which he plays. They’ve seen on game film opposing receivers look timid when running down the middle of their secondary because No. 37 is in the vicinity. Receivers know if Addae is coming, he’s comin’.

This comes with consequences.


Aside from health concerns, which aren’t to be downplayed, Addae was fined $24,309 for a Week 1 hit this season on Chiefs wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. In 2015, the NFL fined him $23,152 for a different hit on Maclin, that one forcing Addae out with a concussion. Addae can earn some cash back next March when he is scheduled to become an unrestricted free agent.

As for the hard hits, don’t look for those to soften.

“This is football, not basketball,” Addae, 26, said. “It’s a contact sport. Growing up, the only way I saw the game be played was to impose your will on the other guy — never to intentionally hurt anyone because at the same time, it’s a fraternity; we’re all in this thing together, trying to feed our families and do what we love to do.

“I flip my switch on Sundays. That’s what got me here. That’s what I feel like will continue to keep me in this league, playing at a high level. … I’m not a dirty player at all. I just play the game differently than a lot of guys play it. I play the game with passion. I play the game with a love that a lot of guys don’t play with anymore. … I’m scrappy. I’m 5-10, 195 (pounds), but I play like I’m 6-4. That’s how I view myself.”


On the field.

Off it, Addae wishes Shorts was back.

michael.gehlken@sduniontribune.com

Twitter: @SDUTgehlken