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Meriweather Pledges To Change

(CBS) Maybe now he finally gets it.

After the NFL took $45,000 out of his paychecks and Lovie Smith took his starting role away, it seems Brandon Meriweather finally understands that he can't get away with illegal hits.

"Apparently I need to fix something if (the NFL) is concerned about my hits," Meriweather told the Chicago Tribune. "I have to change it, or else I'm going to keep getting fined. Eventually if you get enough fines, you're going to end up getting kicked out the league. For me to continue to do something I love, I just have to change the way I play."

Meriweather, who has been fined on two different occasions this season for illegal hits, lost his starting spot to Chris Conte last week.

Most notably, Meriweather has struggled leading with his helmet when he hits. He received his first fine this season after helmet-to-helmet contact with the Panthers' Steve Smith.

"Everybody told me that," he said. "It's not necessarily what they said, but how they said it. People have told me before that I had to change my ways. I've been trying. It's just something you can't do overnight."

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