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Joe Flacco Criticizes NFL Quarterback-Protection Rules in Pre–Super Bowl Interview

The veteran’s stance highlights a safety-versus-physicality debate shaped by concussion research and league liability.

Overview

  • Flacco argued roughing-the-passer should not include defenders landing on quarterbacks or incidental contact like a slap to the helmet.
  • He said inconsistent enforcement creates random, game-changing penalties that should be removed from the sport.
  • While noting that CTE is real, he described injuries as an inherent risk of football, saying players “signed up to get hurt.”
  • He delivered the remarks on ESPN’s This Is Football with Kevin Clark before Super Bowl 60 and acknowledged he does not expect rule rollbacks.
  • The league’s roughing-the-passer foul carries 15 yards and an automatic first down, with case-by-case officiating that critics say lacks consistency.