Should the NFL be Doing More to Protect its Players?

            Players suffering frequent injuries are a problem in major sports leagues. While no one is to blame directly for these injuries, it can prove devastating for championship-contending teams when key players are sidelined for extended periods of time. 

          American Football, probably the most physical team sport in the United States, sees hundreds of injuries per year. According to an article by Arthroscopy Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation, 2019 saw a total of 800 injuries throughout the preseason and season. Considering there are 1696 active players in the league, that is a very high injury percentage, just under 50% if you don’t count reinjuries. 

Recently, star players such as quarterbacks Joe Burrow and Tua Tagovailoa, wide receiver Mike Williams, and others have been frequently on the injury list with concussions, broken hands, twisted ankles, torn ACLs, and the like— but these injuries simply come with the sport. Signing a contract in the NFL is essentially acknowledging that injuries are a part of the job. Although the NFL is implementing new pro-safety initiatives, such as optional “guardian caps” on helmets in an attempt to reduce concussions in the league, further protection of players would likely include the introduction of more rules that would penalize potential injury-causing plays. The main drawback to such changes is that many sports analysts and media stars, such as NFL Fan of the Year, Tom Grossi, believe that there are already too many penalty flags being thrown in games. From the ’70s and ’80s all the way until the late 2000s and early 2010s, physical contact was the main draw of the sport. Hence, if the NFL added more flags, the league would be stepping further and further away from its core identity. Additionally, if the league adds more penalties to protect players, the games would be full of stoppages due to repeated flags, which would result in lower viewership. But what about chronically injured players? 

          Initially, it may seem strange that the same players are always injured, but when you look at it, skill position players such as quarterbacks, running backs, wide receivers, and tight ends are much more injury-prone than other positions. Receivers and running backs are either breaking through large amounts of contact in an attempt to get to the end zone or taking a big hit at the end of a play. They are constantly being battered by the defense, and some players simply have a lower tolerance for this contact than others. As for quarterbacks, they are generally more frail than running backs, so when they are sacked or don’t slide after a run, their chances of injury are much higher. Blind-side sacks, when a quarterback is tackled from behind as they try to throw the ball, are also big contributors to the high injury rates among quarterbacks. When a ball-carrier is running with the ball, they have time to brace themselves both mentally and physically for the incoming hit, however, a quarterback being hit on the blind side does not have that same luxury. Without dramatic changes to the sport of football itself, these injuries are going to keep happening. While some could argue that the sport needs change, I believe that an over-adherance to protecting players will leave football in ruins.