Bucs safety Dashon Goldson fined $60,000 for illegal hit

Buccaneers safety Dashon Goldson has 49 total tackles and one interception this season. (AP Photo/Brian Blanco)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Dashon Goldson avoided a suspension for a helmet-to-helmet hit to St. Louis Rams wide receiver Stedman Bailey but was instead fined $60,000, reports ESPN.com.

In the fourth quarter of the Rams' 23-13 victory Sunday, Bailey caught a 13-yard pass across the middle, and Goldson took two steps and tackled him, hitting Bailey with his helmet before bringing him to the ground.

Goldson was penalized 15 yards for unnecessary roughness on the play, which led to a Rams field goal.

The two-time Pro Bowler has been suspended without pay for one game this season and fined two other times for illegal hits.

"The new football is discouraging. It's hard. It's really hard," Goldson said. "It's deeper than I thought it was."

BANKS: Black Monday Primer: A definitive guide to 2014 coaching carousel

"That's bang-bang. He had no way of avoiding that, other than settling down on the guy and possibly missing him or hurting himself," Bucs coach Greg Schiano said. "It's unfortunate that it happened. The way it's being called, that's going to be called 100 out of 100 times. I hope that it's just a penalty."