Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis didn’t mean harm to Green Bay Packers receiver Davante Adams on an illegal block Sunday.

How do we know? It would be hard to fake the emotion he showed on the sideline.

Davis, one of the most respected players in the NFL and a former Walter Payton Man of the Year award winner for his work off the field, hit Adams on a blindside block after an Aaron Rodgers interception in the third quarter.

Davis hit Adams helmet-to-helmet, and Adams was down for a while.

As Adams was down, television cameras showed Davis on the sideline, head in his hands, shaken up by what had happened. Players will say all the time after causing injuries on unnecessary hits that they didn’t mean to injure anyone, but it usually rings hollow. Davis’ angst seemed sincere.

Adams himself will be on the NFL’s radar too. When he was leaving the field, he took offense to something said to him and made a one-finger obscene gesture toward a fan.

Adams, who was involved in another brutal hit by Chicago Bears linebacker Danny Trevathan earlier this season, got up after a few moments on the ground and walked to the sideline. The NFL has taken action against illegal hits all season, sometimes suspending offending parties. We’ll see if the NFL takes Davis’ reputation and his reaction afterward into account on this one.

– – – – – – –

Frank Schwab is a writer for Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdown.corner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
Follow @YahooSchwab

More NFL coverage from Yahoo Sports:
• Steelers’ JuJu snatches, signs shocked fan’s jersey
• League taking over probe into Panthers owner
• Report: Marvin Lewis leaving Bengals after season
• After big win, veteran Chiefs star tutors young rival