HOUSTON -- Texans safety D.J. Swearinger was not fined for a hit on Broncos receiver Wes Welker that drew a penalty last weekend, Swearinger told ESPN.com on Thursday night.
The safety made the hit with his shoulder but wound up colliding with Welker's head. The hit caused Welker's third concussion in nine months and he immediately left the game.
Denver quarterback Peyton Manning was so upset about the hit that he yelled at Swearinger, who is in his second season out of South Carolina, following the next play. Then, Manning received the first taunting penalty of his career. Manning was fined $8,268 for the taunt, sources told ESPN's Chris Mortensen.
"I believe that that particular hit was a bang-bang play where he was leading with his shoulder and at the last second Welk caught the pass and kind of ducked to make sure that he was protecting himself on the hit and it ended up being a shoulder into the head/neck area," Texans coach Bill O'Brien said Friday. "It was a very bang-bang play. Like I said last week, D.J. was not trying to do harm to anybody. D.J., in our building, has a good reputation as a guy that works extremely hard."
An NFL spokesman confirmed Friday that Swearinger drew no fine for the play.