On September 7, 2008, Pollard was involved in a play that ended with New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady being taken off the field with a knee injury and not returning for the rest of the game. It was later revealed that Pollard's hit on Brady had ended the quarterback's season. Pollard later apologized for the hit, saying, "It was really an accident, I can't change what happened. I can't do anything but pray for him and hope he has a speedy recovery." The Brady hit, along with other cases where quarterbacks had suffered serious injuries on similar helmet-to-knee hits, resulted in a rules change in the NFL beginning with the 2009 season: a defensive player on the ground may no longer lunge or dive at the quarterback's lower legs.