Pollard: 'You suspend a man for a year and now you’re looking for players to suspend? This is outrageous.' (Getty Images)

Ravens safety Bernard Pollard is known as a hard hitter and an outspoken critic of NFL commissioner Roger Goodell, so it’s probably no surprise that he believes football is a violent sport and that he decries the suspensions handed down by the NFL for the Saints role in the bounty program.

And when speaking with the J&R show on SportsRadio 610 in Houston on Friday, he went off on a variety of topics and seemed to condone paying players to injure opponents.

“Who cares if he did say he was going to give somebody $10,000?” Pollard said, most likely referring to the year-long suspension of Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma. “Who cares? it’s out of his pocket. He didn’t take it from the team’s money. He didn’t take it from somebody else’s money. It was his pocket.”

More from Pollard, who said he didn’t believe football would be in existence in 20-30 years:

“If somebody is going to get a knockout shot, OK, at some point somebody is going to get hit anyway. If you end up getting knocked out because you’re trying to get a knockout shot, it’s either kill or be killed. Which one are you going to do? This is football. It’s not powder puff. When Nike unveiled their new uniforms, I’m surprised they didn’t have flags on the side. This is what needs to be right now. You’re taking away the game of football. If a quarterback throws an interception, get his butt down or run to the sidelines. If you’re going to try to make a tackle, I’m going to look for you. I promise you I’m going to look for you.”

Pollard -- known for the hurt he brings to the Patriots (knocking out Tom Brady for the season, being near Wes Welker when he tore his ACL and injuring Rob Gronkowski before Super Bowl XLVI) -- was asked if he thought the commissioner was killing the game, and Pollard wouldn’t go that far. But he did say Goodell’s stance was hypocritical.

“When it’s all said and done, him and (NFLPA executive director) DeMaurice Smith said they would take a dollar (in salary) if we were locked out,” Pollard said. “We were locked out. I guarantee they didn’t take a dollar. Ask them what their salaries were. Everybody wants to talk about these players lying to Roger Goodell. What about them lying to us? What about them lying to you?”

Toward the end of the interview, Pollard was asked if he would let his son play football? His response was fascinating.

“I know what my body has been through,” Pollard said. “I’m 27 years old. I take care of myself, but it’s a violent sport. I don’t want him to have go through it. I don’t want to see my son with a concussion.”

That certainly wasn’t the response I was expecting -- and leads me to believe that no matter what Pollard says about bounties (and if he believes they’re OK), on some level, he knows the game needs to change in order to protect its players.

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