Kurt Warner says bounty systems for injuring opposing players like the one New Orleans was busted for Friday has been a part of the NFL for a long time. The retired quarterback was a member of the Arizona Cardinals when allegations that the Saints targeted him for injury helped re-ignite an NFL investigation, which Friday revealed that more than 20 Saints players were guilty of receiving non-contract bonuses. Warner responded via KTAR Radio in Phoenix: "It's definitely disappointing, but I won't say that I'm completely surprised. I'm not surprised that there were teams out there doing those kinds of things behind closed doors." A hard but legal hit by the Saints dropped Warner in the 2009 playoffs. And while the quarterback says it didn't end his career, "It was a nice exclamation point on it." He says defensive players eye the injury report and aim to hurt offensive players on a regular basis. "I think that's part of the game, and I think that's part of the mindset," Warner said. "And I'm not going to tell you that I haven't believed that there was probably defensive players that got together and said, 'Hey, you know, a thousand bucks for the first guy to knock Kurt out of a football game.' I'm sure that's been a part of our league for a long time." Source: USAToday
