Player safety has become a hot topic in the NFL as an increasing amount of athletes open up about the brutality of the sport.
Former New Orleans Saints wide receiver Joe Horn believes there’s a solution to the problem.
“I think it should be flag football. I think the fans would still pay to see it,” Horn told USA TODAY Sports on Monday. “It’s hard to make it safe now. It’s hard for a guy to go full speed at you and stop in the middle of him going full speed, duck his head and not hit you with the helmet that he has on.”
Rule changes aren’t uncommon in the NFL, but a change of this magnitude would completely alter the way the game is played.
As a father of three growing football players, Horn hopes the game continues to evolve.
“It might be touch football by then. And you know what? That’s good,” Horn said. “Because if the people pay millions of dollars — if they pay their hard-earned money to see superstar athletes play tag football, it is what it is. It’s more safe.”
That said, Horn knows this isn’t the most popular concept, although it’s something he believes needs to be done to protect players more.
“The old guys, the ex-football players can say (the old NFL was better) because they’re retired. If you have children — if you’re retired and you have kids that love the game of football — you really don’t want them coming up and playing like we played.”
You might not agree with his solution, but something must be done to better protect the players regularly sacrificing their bodies on the field.
