Brian Cushing: Rules prohibiting high hits lead to knee injuries

Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing knows exactly what Miami Dolphins tight end Dustin Keller is going through right now.

Cushing's 2012 season was ended in Week 5 when a legal, low hit tore his ACL. It was a legal hit from Cushing's teammate, safety D.J. Swearinger, that ended Keller's 2013 campaign in Saturday's preseason game.

Asked if knee injuries like his and Keller's are on the rise in the NFL, Cushing said he believes that's the case. 

“Probably and it’s unfortunate," Cushing told Deepi Sidhu of HoustonTexans.com.  

Cushing indicated that new rules banning hits to the head have led players to target opponents' lower extremities.

"I wish maybe you can find a happy medium between the knee and the head, but obviously guys are so fearful of a fine, such a magnitude of number that these guys are getting fined as. It’s ridiculous. Obviously, they want to stay away from that area, but then guys are being lost for the year. It’s a lose-lose situation and I don’t know. I just think something needs to get done about that. What? I don’t know.”