{"id":670396,"date":"2026-05-14T12:48:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T12:48:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/670396\/"},"modified":"2026-05-14T12:48:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T12:48:09","slug":"make-hitting-qbs-legal-again-2-nfl-veterans-with-1324-tackles-combined-campaigns-for-major-rule-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/670396\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cMake Hitting QBs Legal Again\u201d: 2 NFL Veterans With, 1,324 Tackles Combined, Campaigns for Major Rule Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

In response to Kyle Van Noy<\/a> asking fans to name one NFL rule they would change and explain why, a former New Orleans Saints<\/a> defensive end took the opportunity to push for a major rule change while criticizing the league\u2019s strict quarterback protection rules, and it seems like the Baltimore Ravens<\/a>\u2018 edge rusher fully agrees with him.<\/p>\n

\u201cMake hitting QBs legal again. No more, this is the way to hit someone who never gets hit but one day out of the week,\u201d Cam Jordan<\/a> replied to Kyle Van Noy\u2019s question on X.<\/p>\n

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Van Noy appeared to agree with the sentiment, replying to Jordan, \u201cFacts!! Fine system is getting wild!\u201d<\/p>\n

The financial side of the rule has also frustrated Van Noy. During Baltimore\u2019s 41-17 Week 2 win at M&T Bank Stadium, Van Noy was fined $17,389 for landing with his \u201cbody weight\u201d on Joe Flacco<\/a> during the Ravens\u2019 game against the Cleveland Browns. Van Noy also wants the NFL to change the intentional grounding rule. The veteran edge rusher believes defenders should be credited with a sack when quarterbacks throw the ball away under pressure, saying those lost sacks can affect players financially.<\/p>\n

Together, Jordan and Van Noy have combined for 1,324 tackles during their NFL careers. Jordan alone has recorded 763 tackles, while Van Noy has added 561. Both Jordan and Van Noy have publicly voiced their frustrations regarding quarterback protection and defensive rules on multiple specific occasions throughout their long careers.<\/p>\n

After the Saints were flagged for two highly controversial roughing-the-passer penalties against Sam Darnold<\/a> in 2021, Jordan didn\u2019t hold back. He told The Score that quarterbacks wear noncontact red jerseys all week in practice, and the league is practically making them wear them during real games too. He jokingly said, \u201cWe might as well just attach a flag to their hips and go off that.\u201d<\/p>\n

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More recently, in January, Van Noy took to X to complain that modern rules<\/a> protect a quarterback\u2019s statistics and wallet at the expense of defensive players. He put up the argument that if a defender\u2019s pressure forces a quarterback to intentionally throw the ball away to avoid a hit, it should be counted as a sack for that defender. He noted the current rule \u201ctakes away money from a defender.\u201d<\/p>\n

The NFL has added stricter rules to protect quarterbacks from injuries. Defenders can get penalized for late hits, helmet-to-helmet contact, or landing with full body weight on the quarterback, with roughing-the-passer calls resulting in a 15-yard penalty and automatic first down.<\/p>\n

In March 2024, the NFL approved the ban of the hip-drop tackle technique as part of the league\u2019s ongoing efforts to promote safety among its players. However, most defenders argue that there is a growing imbalance between the offense and defense rules.<\/p>\n

\"NFL,NFL, American Football Herren, USA New Orleans Saints Training Camp Jul 30, 2025 New Orleans<\/a>, LA, USA New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan 94 during training camp at Ochsner Sports Performance Center. New Orleans LA USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xStephenxLewx 20250730_kdn_la1_091<\/p>\n

This is far from the first time Jordan has publicly criticized the league\u2019s approach. Back in 2022, controversial roughing-the-passer calls during Week 5, including one involving Tom Brady<\/a>, sparked widespread backlash. That time, Jordan, who was playing for the Saints back then, sarcastically joked about how defenders are expected to bring quarterbacks to the ground safely.<\/p>\n

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\u201cI\u2019ll bring a blanket with me \u2026 and I\u2019ll be able to place it before I put him on the ground ever so gently to caress and sing him a lullaby,\u201d Jordan said at the time. \u201cI don\u2019t know. We\u2019ll have to deal with it just like we\u2019ve dealt with it the last couple of years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bobby Wagner<\/a> also summed up the frustration while speaking to ESPN in February this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey make it really hard for a defensive player,\u201d Wagner said. \u201cThere are certain things you can\u2019t do in midair. I\u2019ve seen some superheroes do it, but this is not the comics.\u201d<\/p>\n

Years later, Jordan\u2019s latest comments suggest his stance has not changed much. However, it\u2019s not just defensive players who feel this way. Veteran quarterback Joe Flacco has also shared similar thoughts in the past.<\/p>\n

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Joe Flacco Opens Up About NFL\u2019s Strict QB Hit Rules<\/p>\n

Veteran quarterback Joe Flacco has also openly questioned some of the NFL\u2019s quarterback protection rules over the years. Quarterback safety remains the focus of the league after the serious injuries sustained by top players such as Carson Palmer<\/a> in 2005 and Tom Brady in 2008.<\/p>\n

But even Flacco believes some of today\u2019s roughing-the-passer penalties go too far.<\/p>\n

\u201cI still have that mindset. I don\u2019t think it should be roughing the passer when they land on us,\u201d Flacco told Kevin Clark on the This Is Football podcast in February 2025. \u201cI don\u2019t think being slapped in the head should be roughing the passer. It honestly annoys me because it affects games in a negative way at random times. And they can call it or not call it. It needs to get out of the game.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Flacco has had similar views before, stating that the NFL has made rules regarding hitting quarterbacks too soft, something former Ravens teammate Terrell Suggs<\/a> also agrees with.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, this is football, man. We all sign up to get hit. We all sign up [knowing] you might get hurt,\u201d Flacco said in 2018. \u201cIt\u2019s a violent sport. It\u2019s meant to be that way.\u201d<\/p>\n

Flacco has been very vocal over the years, suggesting that the physical nature of the sport contributes greatly to its appeal among fans. In the last season, there were 91 roughing the passer penalties, totaling 1,236 yards. Despite the low figures, people in the NFL believe that these calls happen at critical times during the game, changing the outcome.<\/p>\n

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The post \u201cMake Hitting QBs Legal Again\u201d: 2 NFL Veterans With, 1,324 Tackles Combined, Campaigns for Major Rule Change<\/a> appeared first on EssentiallySports<\/a>. Add EssentiallySports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In response to Kyle Van Noy asking fans to name one NFL rule they would change and explain…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":670397,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[323617,64,63,631,15429,231624,290743,1252,1238,629,1270,104977,16820,3879,1249,593,1269,85,44660,30663,323616],"class_list":["post-670396","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-american-football-herren","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-baltimore-ravens","tag-bobby-wagner","tag-cam-jordan","tag-carson-palmer","tag-cincinnati-bengals","tag-cleveland-browns","tag-joe-burrow","tag-joe-flacco","tag-kyle-van-noy","tag-myles-garrett","tag-new-orleans","tag-new-orleans-saints","tag-nfl","tag-sam-darnold","tag-sports","tag-terrell-suggs","tag-tom-brady","tag-van-noy"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670396","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=670396"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/670396\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/670397"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=670396"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=670396"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=670396"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}