The NFL has been trying to make the game safer for years. Last month, the league started something it plans to make an annual tradition.
Via Rob Maaddi of the Associated Press, the league held a medical summit in combination with the annual meetings in Orlando. About 18 miles from the site where the NFL met in March, about 400 people gathered for presentations and workshops on player safety.
“It’s not just team physicians or athletic trainers, all of these different disciplines really see themselves as part of our health and safety efforts,” NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills told Maaddi. “Clubs see themselves very holistically and these days when coaches start planning practice schedules and start planning training camps, they’re really involving these different disciplines and doing it through the lens of what a potential riding injury could be.
“Obviously, coaches want to get their teams ready to play, but they also want to make sure they are as healthy as possible. And so that’s really where we look at these interventions. How can we collectively, whether it be through our medical care or equipment, nutrition or strength and conditioning efforts, what can we do collectively to increase player availability and reliability?”
The main goal is to prevent injuries. That became a relevant topic on Monday, when Vikings tight end TJ Hockenson discussed the low hit that left him with a torn ACL late in the 2023 season. As Hockenson said, he would have rather suffered a bad blow and a concussion than a nine-month ordeal of recovering from a serious knee injury.
It’s somewhat surprising that the league hasn’t yet created an offensive zone for defenseless receivers. Blows to the head and neck area of defenseless recipients are already prohibited. Everything else is fair game, including a devastating shot to the knee.
That has to go. Perhaps Hockenson’s comments will get the attention of the owners who meet again in May. It’s not too late to change the rules, and this one would be simple. If there is a real desire to prevent injuries.
