NBC analyst Cris Collinsworth played eight seasons in the NFL, and he knows the sport can be brutal.
So he was speaking partly from experience Sunday night when he talked about how players feel about getting hit with a low tackle.
During NBC’s broadcast of the NFC Wild Card game, Los Angeles Rams tight end Tyler Higbee took a low hit from Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph and went down in pain. ESPN’s Adam Schefter later reported the initial diagnosis is a torn ACL.
After NBC showed replays of the hit, Collinsworth said he’s talked with around two dozen receivers, and they all said they would prefer the NFL crack down on low hits rather than high ones.
“I’ve probably asked 25 receivers or tight ends one question: If you could be protected from that hit to your knees or a blow to the head, which one would you want eliminated from the game?” Collinsworth said. “Every single one of them said, ‘take that (low) hit out of the game.'”
Cris Collinsworth following Tyler Higbee's knee injury: "I've probably asked 25 receivers or tight ends one question: If you could be protected from that hit to your knees or a blow to the head, which one would you want eliminated from the game? Every single one of them said,… pic.twitter.com/YiLbKGIRqP
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) January 15, 2024
ESPN’s Sarah Spain disagreed with Collinsworth’s remark, posting on X (formerly Twitter), “Low hits like that are terrible & of course in the moment a player will say he’d rather get hit high but that’s because you can’t fast forward 30 years to ask him if he’d like to die by suicide due to CTE.
“Those statements are dangerous & ignorant.”
Low hits like that are terrible & of course in the moment a player will say he’d rather get hit high but that’s because you can’t fast forward 30 years to ask him if he’d like to die by suicide due to CTE. Those statements are dangerous & ignorant.
— Sarah Spain (@SarahSpain) January 15, 2024
On the surface, both Collinsworth and Spain appear to make strong cases. Collinsworth is speaking from the perspective of a former player and now analyst who’s watched too many players get cut down by leg/knee injuries. Spain is looking at it from the perspective of long-term head trauma, a growing concern in recent years.
But as many fans quickly noted, there is a whole lot of gray area in between those two extremes. For example, low hits might help prevent head trauma down the road, but they also invite potentially career-ending injuries.
THIS! This is exactly what I said to my husband when Collinsworth made that statement. https://t.co/C8RphKl05J
— Alyssa Wolice (@awolice) January 15, 2024
Agree—but—by playing at this level, most players already accept the long term implications associated with brain injuries. Knee injuries cut short their career and render the original decision to play to be not worth it.
— Jimmy Ringel (@jringel) January 15, 2024
The nature of the game teaches you to be short-sighted. Nothing shortens careers and earnings like those low blows. Players would rather take their chances with CTE way down the road if it helps them make more money today.
— James McQueen (@JTMac32) January 15, 2024
I don’t doubt that most players would say that. But that’s strictly in the moment, in the throes of their prime competitive and earning period. I don’t fault them for that. But I fault Collinsworth for airing it aloud. Not every thought needs to be spoken.
— David Czapka (@siempreuntigre) January 15, 2024
Most players would still say yes go high.
— Mike Smith (@MikeSmith_202) January 15, 2024
its coming from a guy who played the game. The game is dangerous and hard hitting like tonight. Higbee’s career might be over with that knee injury.
— r (@randall_t) January 15, 2024
It’s ignorant to say what you’d prefer to be done to yourself.
Arrogant much? https://t.co/I1GCES0Nc8
— EEE (@EEElverhoy) January 15, 2024
Ideally, a player wouldn’t have to choose between the lesser of two evils when it comes to head injuries vs. knee injuries. If anything, the debate speaks to the multiple dangers that every football player faces on the field.