Is the NFL safe?

By Ben H. and Pierce C.

As the NFL concludes with Sunday's Super Bowl, we look back on a season that was overshadowed at times by serious injury. Buffalo Bill’s safety Damar Hamlin had a cardiac arrest on live TV. Fans watched as Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa was carried off on a stretcher after suffering his second severe concussion of the season.

There have always been concerns about injuries in the NFL. Over the years, the league has tried to help prevent injuries from happening by creating rules like the fair catch and banning face masking and horse collar tackling. These rules have prevented some career-ending hits. 

According to Insider, the NFL and teams have experimented with limiting contact and tackles in practice to increase  players' safety. However, according to Albert Breer of MMQB, some coaches believe that these rules create the opposite effect. The thinking is that less tackling in practice could mean that a defenseman could tackle a player too softly, and as the player gets passed the first tackle, he could get hit too hard. Less contact in practice would also set quarterbacks up to be less prepared for games  and that could mean serious injury.

Albert Breer states, “Coaches are pointing to league-wide offensive line issues as a reason to loosen practice rules. Less hitting in camp and not as much hitting in the season makes it tough to develop young backup lineman.” 

Despite these concerns, a recent report by the Wall Street Journal states that severity, not frequency, sets football injuries apart. Of the four major professional sports in the U.S., football players actually have the lowest rate of injuries, according to Josh Zumbrun in his Jan. 2023 article. But the concern over football isn't overblown, he writes, because even though football injuries are less frequent, they are more severe.

As the Super Bowl is played on Sunday, we all hope for a safe game and a safe ending to this NFL season.