TL;DR: The NFL’s QB protection rules haven’t reduced injuries, haven’t hurt ratings, and have arguably created more confusion than safety.
Key Points
- The NFL’s expanded QB protection rules haven’t reduced injuries — QB attrition remains historically high.
- Viewership is still strong even when backup QBs start, challenging the idea that fans only watch for stars.
- QB injuries create a cascading effect that hurts wide receivers most, impacting chemistry and long-term earnings.
- Officiating narratives don’t match the data — Roughing the passer calls are spread fairly evenly across elite and non-elite QBs.
- The league’s protective rules may be changing gameplay more than they’re actually improving player safety.
2026 Injury Landscape Update (Updated June 2026)
As the league heads into the end of the 2026-2027 season, the core issue hasn’t moved. Despite several off-season tweaks to officiating training and renewed emphasis on quarterback safety, QB injuries remain a defining NFL storyline:
- Teams continue to start 50+ QBs per season, showing little regression toward pre-2020 norms.
- Mobile QBs remain at higher risk despite protection rules — scrambling and extended plays are the leading cause of QB injuries, not pocket hits.
- Offensive linemen hold more than ever, but defenders are still penalized primarily on incidental or late-contact plays.
- No evidence yet suggests the rules have meaningfully reduced concussion rates or non-contact soft-tissue injuries, the two biggest sources of QB absences.
The result going into 2026: more flags, more confusion, and no proven safety payoff.
The NFL Made the Quarterback Untouchable — It Didn’t Work
The NFL has spent a decade making the quarterback nearly untouchable — and it hasn’t worked. Injuries haven’t dropped. Officiating has gotten more confusing, not less. And the players themselves are starting to say the protection has gone too far.
This became impossible to ignore in 2023, when sixteen quarterbacks — half the league — missed at least one week to injury, seven of them for the season. That year still stands as the flashpoint. But the seasons since haven’t reversed the trend, and the debate the league hoped to legislate away has only gotten louder. The question keeps coming back: if all these rules aren’t keeping quarterbacks healthy, what are they actually doing?
Let’s look at each piece of this — the rules, the ratings, the ripple effect on other players, and the officiating.
Even the Players Think It’s Too Much
In June 2026, Rob Gronkowski — four-time Super Bowl champion and one of the most physical players of his era — told Men’s Journal that today’s NFL protects the quarterback “a little too much.” Coming from a player who spent his career blocking for and playing alongside star QBs, it’s a notable admission: the people inside the game feel the same tension the data shows. The league has built rule after rule around keeping the quarterback upright, and the result hasn’t been a safer game — it’s been a more confusing one.
Rules in Place to Protect NFL QBs
Over the last few years, the NFL has continued to implement new rules to protect quarterbacks, making them almost untouchable. Some of these include not landing on top of the quarterback when tackling him, not hitting him after he releases the ball, and not hitting him below the knees. While all of these sound like good ideas to prevent injury, referees have been inconsistent in enforcement, and it’s been difficult for defenders to really understand what is allowed. And the surge in quarterback injuries during the 2023 season has sparked debates about the effectiveness of these measures—if injuries are actually inevitable, does it make sense to institute safety rules that seriously impact play?
The NFL’s Overprotection of QBs Has A Lot to Do with TV Ratings
Quarterbacks are often the face of a franchise and the main selling point for networks and the NFL. Naturally, there is concern that QB injuries can significantly impact game viewership.
The NFL creates its schedule months in advance, aiming to place highly anticipated matchups in the best TV time slots. Oftentimes, it’s the quarterback matchups the NFL considers, not so much the teams. For example, a QB might return to face his former team for the first time. These plans lose their luster when star quarterbacks are sidelined.
Surprisingly enough, NFL viewership is doing just fine, if not better than ever. In 2023, NBC Sports reported injuries at the quarterback position weren’t hurting ratings. The numbers continue to back this up. The 2025 season averaged 18.7 million viewers per game — the NFL’s most-watched season since 1989 and a 10% jump over the year before. NFL games made up 89 of the 100 most-watched TV programs of the year. And this happened in a season that had its own wave of quarterback injuries and backup starters. If losing star QBs actually tanked the product, the ratings would show it. They don’t. Fans keep showing up regardless of who’s under center — which undercuts the whole justification for wrapping the quarterback in bubble wrap.
The QB Effect
When a team loses its QB, it tends to have a trickle-down effect on the rest of the team. The offense becomes more conservative and predictable; the wide receivers produce less; the defense is on the field more due to the lack of offensive production; and opposing defenses play with more confidence against the backups. Overall, when a backup steps in, it can disrupt the team’s rhythm.
The group most hurt by QB injuries is, by far, the wide receivers. Timing is everything in professional sports, and QBs work with their receivers daily, throwing hundreds, if not thousands, of balls in order to know exactly when and where to put the ball on game day. These players will usually spend the entire offseason and extra time outside team activities to build chemistry and perfect their timing so they are on the same page when it matters most. And then suddenly, a different quarterback gets thrown in there — and it can throw everything off. The poorer stats and production that result can become a major factor when it comes time to negotiate a new contract or when testing free agency.
Garrett Wilson of the New York Jets is the textbook case. He posted three straight 1,000-yard seasons to open his career while catching passes from an unstable, ever-changing quarterback situation — production that came despite his circumstances, not because of them. The Jets have leaned into a full rebuild, trading away stars and holding off on a long-term answer at quarterback, which leaves one of the league’s most talented young receivers tied to the fortunes of whoever happens to be under center. A receiver’s numbers, and the contract those numbers earn, can hinge on something he has no control over. When the quarterback situation falls apart, the receiver pays for it — on the field and, eventually, at the negotiating table.
Favorable Penalty Calls
The rise in penalties has raised discussions about whether certain quarterbacks receive more favorable penalty calls than others. There has always been an argument across all professional sports that the superstar players receive more fouls/penalties than others. The NFL has definitely been accused of this over players like Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. Oftentimes, you will see a star receiver or quarterback motioning or pleading for a flag after a play, and a couple of seconds later, the flag comes flying in, leading to a lot of speculation and questions regarding the consistency of NFL officiating. In a way, it does make sense that a referee might be more inclined to call a flag on a star player than on a backup or rookie, since they have more experience or talent and it’s more likely a penalty was committed. Justin Jefferson is more likely to draw pass interference than a rookie receiver; he knows how to bait the corner, draw the flag, and what referees are looking for. With that being said, the point is that it shouldn’t matter who’s involved — it should matter if a penalty was committed.
A major argument in the case of quarterbacks is that more mobile and rugged QBs receive much less respect from officials. Some hard-nosed quarterbacks that come to mind are Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield. They are hard to bring down and have a reputation for being tough QBs who can take hits. This has led many to believe that they receive fewer penalty calls than those who protect themselves better, like Mahomes or Joe Burrow. However, the numbers tell a different story. Across seasons, roughing-the-passer calls stay remarkably even — the tough, mobile quarterbacks like Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield draw them at roughly the same rate as quarterbacks like Mahomes and Burrow. Every starter tends to land in the same two-to-five-calls-a-year range. The favoritism fans feel isn’t backed up by data.
Our perceptions may be a mix of factors that lead us to our final opinion on players and on whether they get more love from the officials than others. One of these factors could be fans putting a microscope on specific players and teams they dislike. Another factor could be the countless media outlets covering professional sports, using their platforms to push narratives that spark intense debate and emotion, planting seeds in fans’ minds. Lastly, superstar players will always be accused of being favored by the league because they are the ones who sell. No matter your opinion on officiating and whether certain teams or players are helped, the NFL (just like all pro sports leagues) wants to see its big-market teams and the faces of its league make deep playoff runs and win championships. And that is why the NFL overprotects its quarterbacks.
The NFL’s Overprotection of QBs Is Simply Not Working
Going back a few years, the 2023 season will always be remembered for the slew of injuries that plagued the QB position. Sixteen quarterbacks (half the league) were sidelined for at least one week with an injury, and seven of them suffered season-ending injuries. That season saw 66 different starting quarterbacks under center, tying the NFL record for a non-strike season set last year.
What seems to set 2023 apart is the severity of the injuries and the star power that was sidelined this season. In 2022, there were many QB changes, too, but they were mainly performance-based rather than injury-based. The rise of quarterback injuries in the NFL has brought several issues to the forefront. The effort the league has put into protecting the quarterback has not seemed to have an impact at all in keeping them healthy; the injuries have derailed many matchups that had great potential and anticipation behind them, and the extent the NFL has gone to enforce the new QB rules has viewers questioning the consistency of the referee.
Clearly, the NFL needs to address the record-setting number of quarterback injuries, as their health is crucial for the league’s appeal. There are probably dozens of factors that have led to this concerning number of injuries, but, strangely, there seemed to be fewer injuries in previous decades, when almost anything was legal on the field. In a league built on speed, power, and chaos, it’s becoming increasingly clear: you can’t legislate physics. And the NFL’s well-intentioned attempt to protect quarterbacks may be affecting the game far more than it protects the players.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are QB injuries worse now than in the past?
Yes. While injuries have always existed, the frequency of QB absences and use of backups is significantly higher than pre-2020 eras, despite expanded protective rules.
Have protection rules reduced injuries at all?
There’s no clear data showing meaningful reductions in total QB injuries or missed time. The rules may limit catastrophic hits, but soft-tissue injuries, foot/ankle injuries, and scramble-related hits remain unchanged.
Why do mobile quarterbacks still get hurt more?
Because outside-the-pocket plays expose QBs to angles of contact that protections don’t cover—tackles in pursuit, lower-body impacts, and sideline awkwardness remain legal or unavoidable.
Do star QBs get more favorable calls?
Statistically, no. RTP and late-hit penalties are distributed relatively evenly across starters. Perceived favoritism often aligns more with media narrative and fan bias than reality.
Does QB injury really hurt TV ratings?
Historically, not much. League-wide viewership continues to grow even during seasons dominated by backups, suggesting teams and storylines matter as much—or more—than individual stars.
So what’s not working?
The rules have changed how the game is played, increasing flags and confusion among officials—but haven’t delivered measurable safety improvements.
Related reading
Controversy Is the Product: How the NFL Turns Chaos Into Its Most Valuable Asset
The NFL’s Partner Web: Inside the $100B Media Rights Deals That Protect the Shield
The NFL Owns the Media
This piece was originally written by former SportsEpreneur contributor Brandon Allison and has been substantially updated and expanded by the SportsEpreneur editorial team for 2026.
Eric Kasimov is the founder of SportsEpreneur, part of the KazSource media network. Since launching the platform in 2015, he has hosted over 500 podcast episodes, written and published more than 1,500 articles, and advised business leaders, founders, and creators on building authority through media strategy.
Through his brands — KazSource, KazCM, SportsEpreneur, and QuietLoud Studios — Eric leads teams that produce podcasts, develop brand platforms, and help companies grow through modern content ecosystems. He also scaled KazSource Insurance into a seven-figure boutique agency, providing the foundation for the broader media network he operates today.
His work has been featured in Forbes, Axios, and Front Office Sports, and his podcasts have included conversations with top founders, investors, and athletes turned entrepreneurs.
The NFL’s Overprotection of QBs Is Not Working
TL;DR: The NFL’s QB protection rules haven’t reduced injuries, haven’t hurt ratings, and have arguably created more confusion than safety.
Key Points
2026 Injury Landscape Update (Updated June 2026)
As the league heads into the end of the 2026-2027 season, the core issue hasn’t moved. Despite several off-season tweaks to officiating training and renewed emphasis on quarterback safety, QB injuries remain a defining NFL storyline:
The result going into 2026: more flags, more confusion, and no proven safety payoff.
The NFL Made the Quarterback Untouchable — It Didn’t Work
The NFL has spent a decade making the quarterback nearly untouchable — and it hasn’t worked. Injuries haven’t dropped. Officiating has gotten more confusing, not less. And the players themselves are starting to say the protection has gone too far.
This became impossible to ignore in 2023, when sixteen quarterbacks — half the league — missed at least one week to injury, seven of them for the season. That year still stands as the flashpoint. But the seasons since haven’t reversed the trend, and the debate the league hoped to legislate away has only gotten louder. The question keeps coming back: if all these rules aren’t keeping quarterbacks healthy, what are they actually doing?
Let’s look at each piece of this — the rules, the ratings, the ripple effect on other players, and the officiating.
Even the Players Think It’s Too Much
In June 2026, Rob Gronkowski — four-time Super Bowl champion and one of the most physical players of his era — told Men’s Journal that today’s NFL protects the quarterback “a little too much.” Coming from a player who spent his career blocking for and playing alongside star QBs, it’s a notable admission: the people inside the game feel the same tension the data shows. The league has built rule after rule around keeping the quarterback upright, and the result hasn’t been a safer game — it’s been a more confusing one.
Rules in Place to Protect NFL QBs
Over the last few years, the NFL has continued to implement new rules to protect quarterbacks, making them almost untouchable. Some of these include not landing on top of the quarterback when tackling him, not hitting him after he releases the ball, and not hitting him below the knees. While all of these sound like good ideas to prevent injury, referees have been inconsistent in enforcement, and it’s been difficult for defenders to really understand what is allowed. And the surge in quarterback injuries during the 2023 season has sparked debates about the effectiveness of these measures—if injuries are actually inevitable, does it make sense to institute safety rules that seriously impact play?
The NFL’s Overprotection of QBs Has A Lot to Do with TV Ratings
Quarterbacks are often the face of a franchise and the main selling point for networks and the NFL. Naturally, there is concern that QB injuries can significantly impact game viewership.
The NFL creates its schedule months in advance, aiming to place highly anticipated matchups in the best TV time slots. Oftentimes, it’s the quarterback matchups the NFL considers, not so much the teams. For example, a QB might return to face his former team for the first time. These plans lose their luster when star quarterbacks are sidelined.
Surprisingly enough, NFL viewership is doing just fine, if not better than ever. In 2023, NBC Sports reported injuries at the quarterback position weren’t hurting ratings. The numbers continue to back this up. The 2025 season averaged 18.7 million viewers per game — the NFL’s most-watched season since 1989 and a 10% jump over the year before. NFL games made up 89 of the 100 most-watched TV programs of the year. And this happened in a season that had its own wave of quarterback injuries and backup starters. If losing star QBs actually tanked the product, the ratings would show it. They don’t. Fans keep showing up regardless of who’s under center — which undercuts the whole justification for wrapping the quarterback in bubble wrap.
The QB Effect
When a team loses its QB, it tends to have a trickle-down effect on the rest of the team. The offense becomes more conservative and predictable; the wide receivers produce less; the defense is on the field more due to the lack of offensive production; and opposing defenses play with more confidence against the backups. Overall, when a backup steps in, it can disrupt the team’s rhythm.
The group most hurt by QB injuries is, by far, the wide receivers. Timing is everything in professional sports, and QBs work with their receivers daily, throwing hundreds, if not thousands, of balls in order to know exactly when and where to put the ball on game day. These players will usually spend the entire offseason and extra time outside team activities to build chemistry and perfect their timing so they are on the same page when it matters most. And then suddenly, a different quarterback gets thrown in there — and it can throw everything off. The poorer stats and production that result can become a major factor when it comes time to negotiate a new contract or when testing free agency.
Garrett Wilson of the New York Jets is the textbook case. He posted three straight 1,000-yard seasons to open his career while catching passes from an unstable, ever-changing quarterback situation — production that came despite his circumstances, not because of them. The Jets have leaned into a full rebuild, trading away stars and holding off on a long-term answer at quarterback, which leaves one of the league’s most talented young receivers tied to the fortunes of whoever happens to be under center. A receiver’s numbers, and the contract those numbers earn, can hinge on something he has no control over. When the quarterback situation falls apart, the receiver pays for it — on the field and, eventually, at the negotiating table.
Favorable Penalty Calls
The rise in penalties has raised discussions about whether certain quarterbacks receive more favorable penalty calls than others. There has always been an argument across all professional sports that the superstar players receive more fouls/penalties than others. The NFL has definitely been accused of this over players like Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes. Oftentimes, you will see a star receiver or quarterback motioning or pleading for a flag after a play, and a couple of seconds later, the flag comes flying in, leading to a lot of speculation and questions regarding the consistency of NFL officiating. In a way, it does make sense that a referee might be more inclined to call a flag on a star player than on a backup or rookie, since they have more experience or talent and it’s more likely a penalty was committed. Justin Jefferson is more likely to draw pass interference than a rookie receiver; he knows how to bait the corner, draw the flag, and what referees are looking for. With that being said, the point is that it shouldn’t matter who’s involved — it should matter if a penalty was committed.
A major argument in the case of quarterbacks is that more mobile and rugged QBs receive much less respect from officials. Some hard-nosed quarterbacks that come to mind are Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield. They are hard to bring down and have a reputation for being tough QBs who can take hits. This has led many to believe that they receive fewer penalty calls than those who protect themselves better, like Mahomes or Joe Burrow. However, the numbers tell a different story. Across seasons, roughing-the-passer calls stay remarkably even — the tough, mobile quarterbacks like Josh Allen and Baker Mayfield draw them at roughly the same rate as quarterbacks like Mahomes and Burrow. Every starter tends to land in the same two-to-five-calls-a-year range. The favoritism fans feel isn’t backed up by data.
Our perceptions may be a mix of factors that lead us to our final opinion on players and on whether they get more love from the officials than others. One of these factors could be fans putting a microscope on specific players and teams they dislike. Another factor could be the countless media outlets covering professional sports, using their platforms to push narratives that spark intense debate and emotion, planting seeds in fans’ minds. Lastly, superstar players will always be accused of being favored by the league because they are the ones who sell. No matter your opinion on officiating and whether certain teams or players are helped, the NFL (just like all pro sports leagues) wants to see its big-market teams and the faces of its league make deep playoff runs and win championships. And that is why the NFL overprotects its quarterbacks.
The NFL’s Overprotection of QBs Is Simply Not Working
Going back a few years, the 2023 season will always be remembered for the slew of injuries that plagued the QB position. Sixteen quarterbacks (half the league) were sidelined for at least one week with an injury, and seven of them suffered season-ending injuries. That season saw 66 different starting quarterbacks under center, tying the NFL record for a non-strike season set last year.
What seems to set 2023 apart is the severity of the injuries and the star power that was sidelined this season. In 2022, there were many QB changes, too, but they were mainly performance-based rather than injury-based. The rise of quarterback injuries in the NFL has brought several issues to the forefront. The effort the league has put into protecting the quarterback has not seemed to have an impact at all in keeping them healthy; the injuries have derailed many matchups that had great potential and anticipation behind them, and the extent the NFL has gone to enforce the new QB rules has viewers questioning the consistency of the referee.
Clearly, the NFL needs to address the record-setting number of quarterback injuries, as their health is crucial for the league’s appeal. There are probably dozens of factors that have led to this concerning number of injuries, but, strangely, there seemed to be fewer injuries in previous decades, when almost anything was legal on the field. In a league built on speed, power, and chaos, it’s becoming increasingly clear: you can’t legislate physics. And the NFL’s well-intentioned attempt to protect quarterbacks may be affecting the game far more than it protects the players.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are QB injuries worse now than in the past?
Yes. While injuries have always existed, the frequency of QB absences and use of backups is significantly higher than pre-2020 eras, despite expanded protective rules.
Have protection rules reduced injuries at all?
There’s no clear data showing meaningful reductions in total QB injuries or missed time. The rules may limit catastrophic hits, but soft-tissue injuries, foot/ankle injuries, and scramble-related hits remain unchanged.
Why do mobile quarterbacks still get hurt more?
Because outside-the-pocket plays expose QBs to angles of contact that protections don’t cover—tackles in pursuit, lower-body impacts, and sideline awkwardness remain legal or unavoidable.
Do star QBs get more favorable calls?
Statistically, no. RTP and late-hit penalties are distributed relatively evenly across starters. Perceived favoritism often aligns more with media narrative and fan bias than reality.
Does QB injury really hurt TV ratings?
Historically, not much. League-wide viewership continues to grow even during seasons dominated by backups, suggesting teams and storylines matter as much—or more—than individual stars.
So what’s not working?
The rules have changed how the game is played, increasing flags and confusion among officials—but haven’t delivered measurable safety improvements.
Related reading
Controversy Is the Product: How the NFL Turns Chaos Into Its Most Valuable Asset
The NFL’s Partner Web: Inside the $100B Media Rights Deals That Protect the Shield
The NFL Owns the Media
This piece was originally written by former SportsEpreneur contributor Brandon Allison and has been substantially updated and expanded by the SportsEpreneur editorial team for 2026.
Eric Kasimov is the founder of SportsEpreneur, part of the KazSource media network. Since launching the platform in 2015, he has hosted over 500 podcast episodes, written and published more than 1,500 articles, and advised business leaders, founders, and creators on building authority through media strategy.
Through his brands — KazSource, KazCM, SportsEpreneur, and QuietLoud Studios — Eric leads teams that produce podcasts, develop brand platforms, and help companies grow through modern content ecosystems. He also scaled KazSource Insurance into a seven-figure boutique agency, providing the foundation for the broader media network he operates today.
His work has been featured in Forbes, Axios, and Front Office Sports, and his podcasts have included conversations with top founders, investors, and athletes turned entrepreneurs.