Will Levis’ comments on Trevor Lawrence hit showcases how NFL is setting up its players to fail
NASHVILLE – All of the attention around the NFL has been directed at last week's hit from Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair that ended with Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence being carted off the field. The play ended Lawrence's 2024 season, and the league came down hard on Al-Shaair by issuing a three-game suspension for a repeat […]
NASHVILLE – All of the attention around the NFL has been directed at last week's hit from Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair that ended with Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence being carted off the field.
The play ended Lawrence's 2024 season, and the league came down hard on Al-Shaair by issuing a three-game suspension for a repeat offender. This isn't the first time this season that Al-Shaair has been fined or penalized for hitting a player late.
But blaming Al-Shaair, while easy and fair, may be looking at the situation with a much too simple mindset. Comments from Titans quarterback Will Levis from earlier this week help showcase why the NFL is setting up players to fail and get hurt.
Levis was asked in a press conference earlier this week if he had seen the hit on Lawrence and was prompted for a reaction as a fellow quarterback. Surprisingly, the Tennessee Titans second-year QB jumped in to support both parties, including his former teammate in Al-Shaair.
"Yeah. No, it's tough. It's the part of this game that no one likes to see. I feel for Trevor [Lawrence] and his family and I feel for Azeez [Al-Shaair] too," said Levis. "As a former teammate, you got to understand how tough of a position that he's in as a defender, and as a quarterback I know it's crazy hearing me say that. But, I get it. And it just goes to show how important it is to protect yourself and do it the right way and to make sure that when we see those things that we know, if we're put in a similar situation, how we can prevent it, which is being either clear with the slide. But yeah, it sucks. It's scary and it definitely makes you think more about how to protect yourself."
Even as a quarterback, Levis is able to point out what a difficult position Al-Shaair was in on that play. He is running full speed at Lawrence, preparing to make a tackle when the slide begins. Should he have launched into the head/neck area? Definitely not, but avoiding the QB entirely seems impossible from that position.
The real issue here is…quarterbacks like Patrick Mahomes. A guy who gets cheeky and takes advantage of the NFL's rules against hitting QBs late. Mahomes loves to fake slide or run to the boundary and scoot up field for extra yardage when it looks like he's about to go out.
Defenders aren't allowed to hit Mahomes. If they lay a hand on him, a penalty flag comes out. But if they let up, he burns them for a big gain. Mahomes isn't the only guy guilty of doing this, but he's probably the one who does it most often with the most star power to be protected by officiating.
And therein lies the problem. quarterbacks are encouraged to get down and protect themselves. Defenders are banned from touching the quarterback. Some guys like to take advantage of that rule. I can get on board with the NFL trying to protect players…but the lack of structure and rules surrounding QB slides and surrenders have actually made things more dangerous and complicated.
That hit on Trevor Lawrence doesn't happen if Lawrence dives head first or refuses to slide. Does he get hit? Certainly, which comes with it's own set of risks, but at least it's not a big blow to the head. It also doesn't happen if there are rules preventing QBs from sliding late.
Guys like Mahomes have no way of taking advantage of rules and then guys like Al-Shaair are less worried about QBs faking a slide.
We simply need more structure around these moments. The NFL either needs to let players hit each other and say everything goes or create detailed restrictions on quarterbacks as ball carriers. If Will Levis can recognize that, the league office should too.
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