It was a brief, albeit tense moment on the practice field for the Detroit Lions earlier this week.
Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw an interception, the first of three during the week, to rookie linebacker Jahlani Tavai, who immediately sprinted the opposite direction down the sideline.
A frustrated Stafford then chased and hit Tavai along the boundary, and fell to the ground. Stafford turned out to be alright, but later acknowledged his mistake.
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“I felt bad about that, you know?” Stafford said Friday night. “Like afterwards, I was like, that was kind of messed up. I’m in a red jersey, he can’t hit me, and I went and hit him. I was just being aggressive. But he’s a big kid, yeah.”
Stafford fared better on Friday during the team scrimmage at Ford Field, going 7 of 8 with a touchdown.
“I was just playing football,” Stafford said of his interceptions. “I mean, lot of situations we get put in in practice are got-to-have-its. That ball goes into the end zone on fourth-and-5 or whatever it is, a 2-point play, you throw it up there and try to make a play. Sometimes they go your way, sometimes they don’t. Obviously taking care of the football is a huge part of winning football games in this league, and I’m just excited to be out here playing.”
