Kurt Warner Shares Bizarre Player Safety Idea That Penalizes Quarterbacks

When it comes to NFL player safety rules, the defenders are the ones walking a tightrope. If they hit someone up high, it's a flag. Going low is also off-limits in many situations, as the league doesn't want its biggest stars to get (literally) taken out at the knees. Sometimes, it feels like the defensive unit is simply a prop, designed to provide token opposition without actually hitting anyone.

Former NFL QB Kurt Warner, however, would change that.

On Monday, the Super Bowl champion took to social media to share a rather unconventional idea: What if quarterbacks were penalized for putting their teammates at risk?

Is that proposal completely unhinged? Or is Warner on to something?

Let's break it down.

Warner on Flagging QBs, Not Defenders

As part of the NFL's efforts to reduce head injuries, the league penalizes players who deliver hits to "defenseless" opponents. There's a multitude of specifics laid out on the league website—there are 11 examples of a defenseless player—but the rule boils down to defenders can't blow up opponents who aren't prepared for contact.

Under most circumstances, the defenseless players in question are receivers who are going across the middle and trying to make a catch. In situations like that, though, Warner wondered about flagging the person who threw the dangerous pass.

"You all know I'm all about player safety... but this whole defenseless WR penalty when it's the QB leading them into a waiting defender is a bad rule IMO... the flag should be thrown on the QB," the former quarterback wrote on X, formerly Twitter. "It's our job to protect our guys not the opponents defense... am I wrong??"

While Warner didn't clarify the finer points of his idea or divulge whether he actually wanted the rule to be changed, he did fire off some additional thoughts on the topic. One focused on the responsibility a quarterback has, and the other flashed back to when Warner placed receiver Anquan Bolden in a bad spot. The QB was so shaken up after his teammate took a bad hit that he even considered retirement.

"No one said knock them out... but it is a physical sport! And the QB won't always see them??? That's their job should we just give ball back after an Interception just QB can't see everyone???"

"I prided myself on not doing that to my guys & got talked into jamming it in there bc of situation in game... knew I shouldn't & did it anyways, crushed me!"

Newsweek attempted to reach out to Warner on X for comment, but his settings didn't allow for a direct message.

Warner's Ideas Looks Like Logistical Nightmare

While you can understand Warner's perspective—as he said, he prided himself on not placing receivers in a bad spot—his proposal doesn't exactly sound enforceable.

As pass interference (and most other penalties) demonstrate, few things on the football field are clear and obvious. Flagging quarterbacks for throwing dangerous passes would only further open the can of worms. If the flag is based on the pass, who is defining a risky ball? Is it based on the proximity of defenders, the number of defenders or something else?

And how would the rule dissuade QBs from attempting tough throws? You don't want to see someone like Patrick Mahomes choosing to throw the ball away just because he was afraid of being punished for throwing into a tight window.

If the penalty is based on the end result, public response would be a nightmare. As Reddit user Young_Malc wrote in a thread about Warner's tweet: "LMAO the optics of this would be horrifying. Star receiver gets destroyed on a slant, put into an ambulance, then the ref has to get on the screen and say the qb was at fault and march them back 15 yards."

There would also be potential to abuse the rule, as defensive players could theoretically claim that any pass was the risk factor rather than the hit.

That isn't to say that the NFL should make decisions based solely on the will of the fans, but the league would never want to unilaterally implement a rule that would spark so much anger.

When it comes to avoiding head injuries, just about every idea is fair game; the stakes are high enough. In Warner's case, though, penalizing quarterbacks for throwing "hospital passes" is probably a bridge too far.