If someone sneezed wrong on Tom Brady, a 15-yard penalty would be in the works. That’s how much respect the seven-time Super Bowl champion earned during his two-decade career while serving as the face of the NFL.
Brady also knows that the NFL is a violent game, meaning agonizing hits will be a part of the sport, especially against the quarterback. On Sunday, that was made clear when Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair drilled Jacksonville Jaguars Trevor Lawrence while he was trying to slide for a first down.
When asked about the play and eventual suspension on FS1’s “The Herd,” Brady was sympathetic to Al-Shaair and other defensive players.
“Certainly for Trevor Lawrence, nobody wants to see anybody get hurt, but it also is the reality of a very physical sport that we play,” Brady said. “But defensive players have to be aggressive. That’s their nature. I always tried to be aggressive on offense and at the same time, the defense tries to tackle aggressively.”
Lawrence, who had just returned to the lineup after missing two games with a shoulder injury, began to slide right before the first down marker after a pickup of six. As the slide began, Al-Shaair left his feet and led with his forearm toward the quarterback’s face, resulting in Lawrence’s head hitting the turf.
Following a brawl between the two teams, Lawerence left the field on a cart and was ruled out with a concussion.
While Brady was sympathetic with Lawrence, he also reminded quarterbacks to protect themselves when they leave the pocket and become runners.
“Certainly, the quarterbacks need to take better care of themselves. I see Josh Allen running a lot. I see Lamar Jackson running a lot,” Brady said. “Certainly, it’s a great skill set to have. … 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 on protecting an offensive quarterback who’s running should be on a defensive player. I don’t think that’s really fair to the defense. If you slide, everyone can argue, was it black and white or was it a gray area? Did you slide late or was it unnecessary roughness? Or is it a late hit? To me, a late hit is very late.”
Brady also said it was unfair to fans to call Al-Shaair a “dirty player” because of a rough hit.
“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.
Al-Shaair, the Texans’ defensive captain, plans to appeal the suspension on Wednesday afternoon.
