Tom Brady Thinks Rulebook is 'Unfair' to Defenders Against Mobile Quarterbacks

Brady spoke about the hit on Trevor Lawrence while appearing with Colin Cowherd.

Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence (16) slides for a down as Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (0) makes a late hit during the second quarter of an NFL football matchup Sunday, / Corey Perrine/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaari was suspended three games by the NFL for his late and dubious hit on a sliding Trevor Lawrence. The hit and resulting on-field hubbub it created has spawned a lot of discussion about an issue the NFL is facing that doesn't have an easy answer. How does it balance keeping a crop of exciting mobile quarterbacks healthy and on the field without over-legislating things to a point where defenders, in fact, become defenseless in their pursuit of making a play?

Tom Brady was asked about the situation on Tuesday while guesting on The Herd with Colin Cowherd. He gave a nuanced and entirely sensible take on all that's happening—which makes sense considering his own experience navigating those hits. Along the way he offered something that one never would have heard from him during his two decades-plus leading NFL offenses.

.@TomBrady discusses late hit on Trevor Lawrence:

"If we don't want these hits to take place, we've got to penalize both the offense and the defense." pic.twitter.com/fnmCJ7oZwj

— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) December 3, 2024

"When you run, you put yourself in a lot of danger," Brady said. "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 the defense."

It's a sensible stance. When it came time to offer solutions, though, Brady offered one up that would only add more subjective chaos to an already difficult game to officiate.

"Maybe the fine or penalize a quarterback for sliding late, you know?" he said. "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 a defensive player for every single play that happens when there's a hit on a quarterback."

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