You would think that a legendary former quarterback would go to bat for one of his fallen brethren, but Tom Brady has gone in the opposite direction.
The legendary QB appeared to defend Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair for his hit on Trevor Lawrence, which left the Jacksonville Jaguars pivot with a concussion.
Al-Shaair was handed a three-game suspension by the NFL this week for the hit to the head of the oncoming QB, which occurred while Lawrence was sliding to rule himself down after a run.
On Wednesday, the Jaguars placed Lawrence on the Injured Reserve, likely ending the former first-overall pick’s season.
However, Brady seemed to suggest that quarterbacks need to be more responsible for their own safety on the field during an appearance on The Herd with Collin Cowherd on Tuesday.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
The former New England Patriots and Tampa Bay Buccaneers star did qualify his comments by saying that “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 was trying to be aggressive on offence, we tried to block aggressively and, at the same time, the defence tries to tackle aggressively,” Brady said. “I don’t know, there’s an aspect to me that I think the quarterbacks need to take better care of themselves.”
Brady then brought up how mobile quarterbacks put themselves in danger when they run.
“I see Josh Allen run it a lot, I see Lamar Jackson run it a lot and it’s a great skillset to have. A lot of times I wish I had that skillset,” Brady said.
tap here to see other videos from our team.
“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 defence.”
Brady, who signed a $375-million deal with Fox Sports to be their lead analyst during NFL games, also questioned whether teams are interested in protecting their QBs considering how many designed runs the star players are used in.
“Are we really trying to protect quarterbacks? Because if you are trying to through the rules, then why are the offensive coordinators not protecting their quarterbacks by keeping them out of the pocket and not designing as many quarterback runs?” he asked. “I think it’s gone to a point where everyone will label a certain player as a dirty player, I don’t like that one bit.
“Maybe they (should) 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 offence and the defence rather than just penalize a defensive player for every single play that happens when there’s a hit on a quarterback.’”
NFL vice president of policy and rules administration Jon Runyan criticized Al-Shaair’s “lack of sportsmanship and respect for the game of football and all those who play, coach, and enjoy watching it” in a statement announcing the suspension.
Brady, who won seven Super Bowl championships during his iconic career, was never known for his rushing ability.He averaged 1.6 yards per carry and topped 100 rushing yards in a season just twice in his 23-year career.