If anyone knows what it takes to play quarterback in the NFL, it's Tom Brady. The seven-time Super Bowl winner spent 23 seasons in the league, and during his lengthy career, took his fair share of big hits. So, it only made sense to get his take on the brutal hit that Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair put on Trevor Lawrence in Week 13.
During an interview on "The Herd with Colin Cowherd," Brady was asked about the hit, and surprisingly, he seemed to actually side with the defender in this situation.
For one, Brady said quarterbacks need to take better care of themselves when they scramble.
"There's an aspect to me that I think the quarterbacks need to take better care of themselves," Brady said. "I see Josh Allen run it a lot, I see Lamar Jackson run it a lot, and it's a great skill set to have. A lot of times, I wish I had that skill set. 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 a defense."
Brady then went on to say that defensive players shouldn't be punished for playing aggressive defense.
"The only aspect that I think is very challenging, and certainly for Trevor Lawrence, nobody wants to see anybody get hurt, but it is also the reality of a very physical sport that we play," Brady said. "Defensive players have to be aggressive, that's their nature. I always tried to be aggressive on offense, we try to block aggressively, and at the same time, the defense tries to tackle aggressively."
The Texans linebacker ended up getting hit with a three-game suspension for his hit on Lawrence, but based on Brady's answer, Al-Shaair probably would NOT have been suspended if the decision had been up to Brady.
If the NFL wants to eliminate big hits on quarterbacks, Brady suggested a rule change that would probably be pretty controversial if it were to be implemented: Penalize the offense.
"Maybe they fine or penalize a quarterback for sliding late and say, 'Look, if we don't want these hits to take place, we've got to penalize the offense and the defense rather than just penalize the defensive player for every single play that happens when there's a hit on the quarterback,'" Brady said.
The four-time NFL MVP also pinned some of the blame on NFL offensive coordinators, who continue to put their quarterbacks in harm's way.
"For a play-caller, there are more designed runs now more than ever in the history of the NFL," Brady said."So are we really trying to protect quarterbacks? Because if we are, then why are the offensive coordinators not protecting their quarterbacks by keeping them in the pocket and not designing as many quarterback runs."
No one knows the quarterback position better than Brady, so it's interesting to hear his take on the situation, and it's definitely a surprising take, with Brady appearing to side with the defensive player.