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Five days after being on the receiving end of a crushing helmet-to-helmet hit from Patriots safety Brandon Meriweather, Ravens tight end Todd Heap said he doesn't hold any grudges and feels that the $50,000 fine that Meriweather received should deter the safety from making similar hits in the future.
"It is what it was, everybody saw it and there's no need for me to comment on it now," Heap said. "I think he'll learn his lesson by that. It's not my place to enforce anything, but, at the same time, looking back on it and seeing the hit, it was something that I think could have been avoided."
Heap suffered a neck injury as a result of the hit and had to leave the game against New England for a handful of plays.
The tight end has trained with Meriweather in the offseason and said that he thinks the fourth-year safety apologized to him after the game, although Heap says he doesn't remember much from the postgame discussion on the field.
"I don't think it was anything personal," Heap said. "I've known him for a little while. Like I said, I don't think he meant anything by it. I think he was trying to play football, but he made a bad decision. That's about it."
After missing Wednesday's practice, Heap returned to the practice fields yesterday and today, and said that he plans on suiting up on Sunday against the Bills.
"It was a tough week, but I'll be ready to go," Heap said. "I'm feeling relatively good right now. We'll see how it feels Sunday, but right now I expect to play.
"It is sore. There was some pain. There still is some pain, but I'm fighting through it."
