Quarterback injuries seem to be at an all-time high. Multiple teams have started four different players at the most important position in football.
Before breaking glass in event of emergency, however, the league should check to see whether there really is one.
There isn’t. It’s fine. It’s all fine. This is fine. And not in the fire dog way. It really is fine.
The NFL boasted just yesterday that NFL games have generated 17.8 million viewers on average in 2023, the highest number since 2015. From the time the 2023 season began, 72 of the 75 most-watched shows on TV have been NFL games.
Last year, the NFL defended the hair-trigger roughing-the-passer rules by linking the health of quarterbacks to the health of TV ratings. The current season has proven otherwise. People watch, regardless of whether the best quarterbacks are available.
That changes things. The league need not be so obsessive about protecting quarterbacks, especially the stars. And maybe, just maybe, expansion of the league really is possible.
Yes, there aren’t enough good quarterbacks to go around. Hell, there aren’t enough bad quarterbacks to go around. And it doesn’t matter. Because there are more than enough eyeballs anxious to watch football. And it doesn’t matter whether it’s good, bad, or ugly.
We love football. We accept it won’t always entail the best players. We don’t care. Ultimately, football is better than no football.
Take tonight, for example. Easton Stick versus Aidan O’Connell. And we’ll still watch. After tonight, there are only two Thursday night games left.