NFL legend Tom Brady suggested both the offense and defense should receive penalties when a quarterback slides late following the saga surrounding Azeez Al-Shaair.
On Sunday, the Houston Texans secured a 23-20 win over their AFC South rival Jacksonville Jaguars. With 3:57 remaining in the second quarter, Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence slid at the end of a 6-yard gain - and Al-Shaair brutally slammed into the former No. 1 overall pick.
Officials ejected Al-Shaair, who became the subject of a bench-clearing brawl between the two teams as Jags players fumed over the illegal hit, which left Lawrence with a concussion. Al-Shaair, who entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2019, was suspended for three games by the NFL.
In the statement announcing Al-Shaair’s suspension, NFL vice president of football operations Jon Runyan said that the linebacker demonstrated a “lack of sportsmanship and respect for the game of football.” Appearing on FOX Sports’ “The Herd”, Brady outlined potential solutions to help level the playing field between offense and defense when it comes to quarterback slides.
“For a play-caller, there's more designed runs for quarterbacks now than [ever] in the history of the NFL, so are we really trying to protect quarterbacks?” Brady said. “Because if you are trying to do it through the rules, then why are the offensive coordinators not protecting their quarterbacks by keeping them in the pocket and not designing as many quarterback runs? Everyone will label a certain player as a ‘dirty player.' I don't like that one bit.
“Maybe they fine or penalize a quarterback for sliding late and say, if we don't want these hits to take place, we've got to penalize the offense and the defense, rather than just penalize a defensive player for every single play that happens when there's a hit on a quarterback.”
The seven-time Super Bowl champion elaborated on the complexity of the issue, adding: “Nobody wants to see anybody get hurt, but it is also the reality of a very physical sport that we play. Defensive players have to be aggressive. That's their nature. I always tried to be aggressive on offense. We tried to block aggressively, and, at the same time, the defense tries to tackle aggressively… I think the quarterbacks need to take better care of themselves. I see Josh Allen run it a lot. I see Lamar Jackson run it a lot, and it's a great skill set to have. A lot of times, I wish I had that same skill set.
“And, at the same time, when you run, you put yourself in a lot of danger, and when you do that, I don't think the onus of protecting an offensive quarterback who's running should be on a defensive player. I don't think that's really fair to the defense.”
It’s unclear how long Lawrence, who was given a five-year, $275 million extension in the offseason, will be out for. Al-Shaair is set to miss games against the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, and Baltimore Ravens before returning for the regular season finale against the Tennessee Titans on Jan. 5, 2025.
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