The NFL has tried hard to legislate violent hits out of the game, but FS1 host Danny Parkins believes the current system goes too far.
After Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch was ejected in Week 10 for a helmet-to-helmet hit on a defenseless Green Bay Packers receiver, Parkins argued on Breakfast Ball that the NFL should take a page out of hockey’s book.
Rather than an ejection or suspension, Parkins said, it’s time for a football penalty box.
“I’m all for player safety. Player safety matters,” Parkins explained. “I normally don’t steal ideas from the world of hockey. But hockey, another violent sport, has figured out the idea of a penalty box … you can’t kick (players) out of the game, put them in the penalty box.”
The NFL should steal the idea of the penalty box from the NHL. We need to raise the threshold for ejecting players.
Gimme a minute! @BrkfstBallOnFS1 pic.twitter.com/FK2jVgVYW9
— Danny Parkins (@DannyParkins) November 7, 2024
Parkins wants to keep the 15-yard penalty in place for illegal hits but suggested adding a one-drive or several-minute timeout on top of the flag. That way, players are punished without ruining their teams’ chances for the rest of the game. It’s a middle ground.
Now, one could easily argue the NFL was intentional in bringing the hammer down on these tackles. But Parkins acknowledged that certain plays, like Myles Garrett’s helmet-swinging sack of Mason Rudolph many years back, cross a line. Those would still be ejections if here NFL commissioner for a day.
For lesser hits, though, Parkins believes there is a compromise to be made where players miss portions of games and get right back to the action.
It doesn’t hurt that this would be a fascinating entertainment subplot in an NFL game, too.
