JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (AP) – Jacksonville coach Jack Del Rio defended hard-hitting safety Donovin Darius on Monday, saying he never intended to hurt Robert Ferguson with a clothesline tackle that put the Green Bay receiver in the hospital.

Del Rio also said he expected Darius to be fined but not suspended for the shot that temporarily paralyzed Ferguson and knocked him unconscious Sunday.

“It was a nasty shot, but I don’t believe his intent was to headhunt the guy,” Del Rio said.

Ferguson was taken off the field on a stretcher and temporarily paralyzed below the waist following the hit. He regained feeling and movement on his way to the hospital, where he spent Sunday night. He will remain there at least one more night for tests and observation.

“They gave no indication that it’s career-threatening. But I don’t know if you can make that evaluation less than 24 hours” later, Packers coach Mike Sherman said. “All signs indicate that he’s going to be fine.”

Ferguson was still experiencing numbness on his left side a day after getting hurt, said Eric Armstead, director of player development for EO Sports Management, the Houston-based agency that represents Ferguson.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with Robert Ferguson,” Del Rio said. “My understanding is he’s doing OK up there and everything’s going to be all right. But it was a scary situation and a very serious situation.”

As Ferguson made a leaping, 31-yard catch at midfield, Darius hit the defenseless receiver across the neck with a left forearm. The shot ripped off Ferguson’s helmet, stunned the crowd at Lambeau Field and infuriated the Packers with 4:41 remaining in a 28-25 loss to the Jaguars.

Darius was flagged 15 yards for unsportsmanlike conduct and ejected by referee Ed Hochuli.

“He plays a physical brand of football, but he plays within the rules,” Del Rio said. “He did not go helmet to helmet. He did not project himself or launch himself into the guy. He attempted to club at the football and ended up clubbing the guy in the head. It should be flagged and it was. I’m sure it will be fined and it should be.

“If he really wanted to hurt the guy, he would launch himself or he would go helmet on helmet and really kill the guy.”

Sherman called the hit “a cheap shot,” and some players said there probably would have been retaliation had Darius stayed in the game.

Del Rio said he was initially upset with the ejection because he thought it was a response to the 10-minute delay, the numerous replays on the scoreboard and the partisan crowd’s reaction. But he said Monday it was “probably the wise thing to do.”

“They have to do what they can to control the game,” he said.

Del Rio also said he thought it was “highly unlikely” the league would suspend Darius.

“The guys who have been suspended in the past out of the secondary have had a history of doing things, a track record, several warnings and several big fines,” Del Rio said. “I just don’t see him in that category.”

The league fined Denver Broncos safety Kenoy Kennedy a total of $17,500 in 2002 for two hits and suspended him for one game for a third.

He was fined $7,500 for a hit on St. Louis’ Isaac Bruce and $10,000 for a hit on San Diego’s Fred McCrary. Both receivers were deemed to be in a defenseless position when Kennedy hit them.

Kennedy was later suspended after a helmet-to-helmet hit on Miami’s Chris Chambers, who suffered a concussion.

AFC spokesman Steve Alic said the league would look at Darius’ hit and that any fine, if appropriate, would probably come Friday. A suspension could be handed out at any time.

Darius was not available for comment Monday, but said after the game he was trying to jar the ball loose.

“It was nothing intentional,” said Darius, whose only fine for a hit came in 2001 in the preseason against Kansas City running back Priest Holmes. “I love to play this game 100 miles an hour, and I would never do anything outside the rules.”