New NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent has defended the suspension that the league has imposed on Washington Redskins' Brandon Meriweather.

Meriweather has been penalised for a pre-season hit on Baltimore Ravens wide receiver Torrey Smith, but Vincent has stated that the ban is in place because the safety is a repeat offender.

A former defensive back himself, Vincent stated that he and his staffing panel went back over footage of Meriweather before they reached their decision.

He told NFL Network: "Brandon has been someone that has been in this particular situation multiple times.

"In this particular case, Brandon hit a player in that area that we consider a very sensitive area, which is that head and neck area. So we went back from 2009 to current, and this is technique that we want to remove from the game.

"Frankly, some of the acts are impermissible: the helmet-to-helmet blows, hitting in that head - we want to protect Brandon himself, and we want to protect his opponents from unnecessary risks."

Smith stated his surprise at the suspension via his personal Twitter account after he was asked about the subject by ex-NFL star Plaxico Burress.