NFL at Impasse With Quarterback Protection, Damaging Injuries

There’s been a lot of quarterback injuries this season and a re-ignition of the always controversial penalty call of roughing the passer.

Two that come to mind from Week 3 are the calls on Miami Dolphins’ edge rusher Chop Robinson against Kansas City Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes and on New Orleans Saints linebacker Danny Stutsman on Las Vegas Raiders’ quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Both players were fined for the hits due to putting all of their body weight into the quarterbacks when landing. The call on Stutsman was particularly damaging as it was on a 3rd-and-4 incompletion that turned into an automatic first down at the 3-yard line and an ensuing touchdown that put the Raiders up 13-6 in the second quarter.

Those calls not only wipe points off the board but also can be game-changing in terms of momentum.

And it puts the defenders at a really tough mental position of wanting to make the play but trying to avoid his team (and his bank account) suffer as a result of it.

But at the same time, the NFL has a problem with quarterback injuries – and not only to the starters.

The Washington Commanders were down to their third string quarterback in Athan Kaliakmanis, an undrafted rookie.

They for whatever reason didn’t make Sam Hartman active, so their emergency – and only backup – quarterback was tight end Colson Yankoff.

That was all due to Marcus Mariota going down, who was in place of Jayden Daniels. New York Giants’ quarterback Jaxson Dart is done for the season.

Daniels is targeting a Week 5 return. Chicago Bears’ Caleb Williams is expected to return between Weeks 5 and 7. In his place, Case Keenum and Tyson Bagent have stepped up.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Baker Mayfield is out for a few weeks with a dislocated thumb, with former Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels taking his place.

The league didn’t make it past a single drive in the season before a quarterback went down with injury, as Seattle Seahawks’ Sam Darnold injured his glute on the first possession of the season opener.

The last several seasons of the NFL have seen an uptick in quarterback injury. This year may just be in line with the trends.

But the product on the field is certainly suffering.

The game is just getting faster, the defensive line is getting more athletic, and they’re outpacing that of o-linemen. Blitzes are coming from every level and personnel member on the field.

Is the answer to invest more in backup quarterbacks? Or is it maybe to invest more in the protection in front of them?

The roughing the passer calls certainly can’t be widened. So the league is at a standstill.

Teams started recently shoring up on third-and-fourth string quarterbacks. Perhaps they should be adding on a few extra linemen instead.