Legendary NFL quarterback Tom Brady appeared to defend Texans linebacker Azeez Al Shaair's hit on Trevor Lawrence during Sunday's game against the Jaguars.
Al Shail was suspended for three games by the NFL on Tuesday for the hit, but Brady appeared on Tuesday's “The Herd with Colin Cowherd” and said the quarterback had more to say about his actions. He seemed to be suggesting that he needed to take responsibility.
The seven-time Super Bowl champion fleshed out his comments by saying, “I don't want to see anyone get hurt, but that's also the reality of the very physical sport we play.”
“Defensive players have to be aggressive. That's their nature. I tried to be aggressive on offense, I tried to block aggressively, but at the same time I tried to tackle aggressively on defense. '' Brady said. “I don't know, but in some ways I think quarterbacks need to take better care of themselves. You see Josh Allen doing that a lot, you see Lamar Jackson doing that. And it's a great skill set, and I often wish I had that skill set.
“At the same time, running puts you in a lot of danger. And when you do that, I don't think the onus should be on the defensive players to protect the running offensive quarterback. It's not really fair to the defense. I don’t think so.”
The reaction got a little weird when Brady appeared to question how much the team cared about protecting its quarterback.
Brady mentioned how many plays a QB is designed to run.
“Are we really trying to protect the quarterback? Because if you're trying to follow the rules, why don't offensive coordinators protect the quarterback by keeping him out of the pocket and You don't plan a lot of back runs, do you?'' he said. “I think it's gotten to the point where everyone is labeling certain players as dirty players. I don't like that one bit. Maybe they're [should] Fine or penalize the quarterback who slides late and say, “If you don't want hits like this to happen, why don't you penalize the defensive player for every play that happens when there's an offense?'' “Not only do we have to impose penalties, but we have to impose penalties on offense and defense as well.” It's a hit on the quarterback. ”
Al Shair was hit in the head by Lawrence when he slipped while running during the first half of Sunday's match.
Lawrence fell to the ground for several minutes and left the game with a concussion.
In a statement announcing the suspension, John Runyan, the NFL's executive vice president of policy and rules management, said Al Sa'air's “sportsmanship and the game of football, those who play it, those who coach it, and those who watch it.” “lack of respect for all those who enjoy it.”
Texans GM Nick Caserio was not pleased with the league's position and slammed the comments as “bullish.”
