Tom Brady Suggests NFL Rule Change to Penalize Late Slides After Trevor Lawrence Hit

Tom Brady suggested that quarterbacks should be fined or penalized for sliding late in order to deter defensive players' late hits on signal-callers.

Brady made his remarks to Fox Sports' Colin Cowherd shortly after news broke that Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair was suspended three games following his late hit on Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence.

"It's gone to a point where everyone will label a certain player as a dirty player, I don't like that one bit," Brady said.

"Maybe they fine or penalize a quarterback for sliding late. And say look, if we don't want these hits to take place, we've got to penalize the offense and the defense rather than just penalize a defensive player for every single play that happens when there's a hit on a quarterback."

On Tuesday, Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans had this to say on the matter, in essence pointing the finger at Lawrence and claiming he slid late.

"We stand behind Azeez and everything that came from that," Ryans said. "Of course the unfortunate hit on a quarterback. But it's two-fold. A lot of the quarterbacks in this day and age, they try to take advantage of the rule where they slide late and they try to get an extra yard.

"You're a defender, and a lot of onus is on the defender. Whether it's on the sideline or it's on the quarterback, you don't know what a guy is thinking. You don't know if a guy's staying up and he's continuing to run. You don't know. And you get a late slide and you hit the guy.

"Unfortunate that Trevor got hurt. We hope Trevor's OK. But also, if we're sliding, we have to get down."

There was certainly some disagreement with that assertion, particularly because of Al-Shaair's forearm shiver. Longtime NFL veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and sportscaster Dan Patrick had this to say.

The NFL made its stance clear. In his remarks, NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan gave the Texans linebacker a public shaming of sorts.

"Your lack of sportsmanship and respect for the game of football and all those who play, coach, and enjoy watching it, is troubling and does not reflect the core values of the NFL. ... Your continued disregard for NFL playing rules puts the health and safety of both you and your opponents in jeopardy and will not be tolerated," Runyan wrote in part.

Lawrence suffered a concussion and was ruled out of the remainder of his team's game, which resulted in a 23-20 home loss.

Al-Shaair, who was ejected from the Jags game, is now eligible to return for Week 18 against the Tennessee Titans. Houston has a bye next week before facing the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens.