Martavis Bryant CINCINNATI, OH – DECEMBER 13: Martavis Bryant #10 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates while walking off of the field after defeating the Cincinnati Bengals 33-20 at Paul Brown Stadium on December 13, 2015 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

The NFL preseason has already led to one potential suspension for a hit, with Cincinnati Bengals’ linebacker Vontaze Burfict reportedly facing a five-game suspension for a hit on the Kansas City Chiefs’ Anthony Sherman last week. If Pittsburgh Steelers’ receiver Martavis Bryant has anything to say about it, there might be another one.

Bryant took a big hit from Indianapolis Colts’ safety Matthias Farley Saturday night while he was on the ground after already being brought down by Colts’ defensive back Vontae Davis. Speaking to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler Sunday about the extra work he did on building muscle this offseason, Bryant said that helped him survive the Farley hit without injury, but he said Farley attempted to injure him:

“I feel better about my body and my ability on the field. I don’t have to worry about taking so many injuries from different plays like yesterday where he tried to hurt me,” Bryant told ESPN. “Just making sure my body feels good and I stay in shape.”

Asked about the nature of the hit, Bryant said it was “definitely intentional.”

“I was already on the ground. It is what it is,” Bryant said. “My foot was already bent. … [Farley] just came in and hit me.”

Here’s a look at the hit:

Obviously, it’s not Bryant making the decisions on whether a hit receives further discipline or not. And no penalty was called on the play, which would make it seem likely Farley may not be punished further. But that hit does look possibly late, and it’s interesting to hear Bryant so definitively say it was an intentional attempt to injure; that’s far from normal. We’ll see if anything comes from this.

[ESPN]

About Andrew Bucholtz

Andrew Bucholtz has been covering sports media for Awful Announcing since 2012. He is also a staff writer for The Comeback. His previous work includes time at Yahoo! Sports Canada and Black Press.