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Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy insists that Trysten Hill didn't mean to hurt Chris Carson: 'Trust me'

Injuries are an accepted fact of life for NFL players.

Injuries that are intentionally inflicted are not.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy wants you to know that Trysten Hill did not intentionally injure Seattle Seahawks running back Chris Carson on Sunday.

Trust him.

“I don’t think that was his intent,” McCarthy told reporters on Monday. “I just think he was trying to wrap and roll. Trust me, there was zero intent involved there.”

Hill injured Carson with questionable tackle

McCarthy was forced to address the issue after Hill rolled Carson up on a tackle late in Sunday’s Seahawks win, forcing him out of the game with what was diagnosed Monday as a first-degree knee sprain.

Hill tackled Carson by his lower left leg in the fourth quarter as the Cowboys led, 31-30. He held on to Carson’s leg and proceeded to roll him over well after Carson was down on the play.

The move dubbed an “alligator roll” is not considered a proper tackling technique. It is, however, a good way to twist up the joints of the player on the receiving end. Carson left the game after the play and didn’t return. Seattle would go on to win, 38-31.

Dallas Cowboys defensive tackle Trysten Hill (79) is seen during the second half of a preseason NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Saturday, Aug. 17, 2019, in Honolulu. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)
Trysten Hill joined the Cowboys in 2019 amid character concerns. (AP Photo/Marco Garcia)

Pete Carroll ‘pissed’

The Seahawks are now facing a potential 1-2 week timeframe without their starting running back.

Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll doesn’t share McCarthy’s optimism that Hill wasn’t trying to hurt Carson, telling 710 ESPN on Monday that he was “really pissed about that one. ... because that guy really hurt him.”

Hill flagged for blow to Russell Wilson

Hill’s tackle of Carson wasn’t his only dangerous play as the Cowboys tried to fend off the Seahawks’ rally. On Seattle’s go-ahead touchdown, Hill leveled a direct helmet-to-helmet blow to Seattle quarterback Russell Wilson after he released a touchdown pass to DK Metcalf.

Hill’s tackle of Carson didn’t draw a penalty. His hit on Wilson did, setting the Seahawks up for a short and successful two-point conversion attempt.

The NFL has yet to respond publicly to Hill’s questionable tactics from Sunday.

The Cowboys drafted Hill out of UCF in 2019 amid character concerns and conflict with his college coaching staff.

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