New York Jets safety Eric Smith was suspended for one game by the NFL on Monday for his helmet-to-helmet hit on Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Anquan Boldin.
Smith was also fined $50,000 by the league for what it called a flagrant violation of player safety rules. In a statement, the NFL said Boldin was in a defenseless position at the time contact was made.
Boldin was resting at home Monday, a day after being carted off the field following the scary collision in the Cardinals’ 56-35 loss to the Jets at the Meadowlands.
Cardinals spokesman Mark Dalton said Boldin was fully mobile and was “resting comfortably at home” on Monday evening. The team released no other information on Boldin’s condition.
Smith briefly lost consciousness after the play, and still felt “a little fuzzy.”
With 27 seconds left, Boldin tried to catch a pass from Kurt Warner in the end zone, but was hit in the back by Kerry Rhodes and then took a shot to his helmet from Smith. After being worked on for several minutes, Boldin was immobilized and placed on a stretcher before he was carted off the field.
Smith, who said he would try to get in touch with Boldin, insisted there was no malicious intent on his part.
Information from the Associated Press contributed to this report.