Joe Flacco blasts NFL's physicality crackdown: 'We signed up to get hurt'
Joe Flacco is one of the NFL's oldest quarterbacks, so it makes sense he would have an old-school philosophy about physicality within the game.
The 41-year-old made it clear in an interview ahead of Super Bowl 60 he isn't a fan of the NFL's push to ban certain types of contact, even when it disproportionately benefits quarterbacks.
"I don't think it should be roughing the passer when they land on us," Flacco opined to ESPN's Kevin Clark. "I don't think being slapped in the head should be roughing the passer. It honestly annoys me because it affects games in a negative ways at random times."
Flacco acknowledged he knows that "CTE is a thing" and that his opinion raises eyebrows among younger generations, who "look at [him] like [he's] crazy."
Nonetheless, Flacco remains steadfast that he'd like to see certain penalties - most notably, roughing the passer calls that involve being landed on with full body weight or that stem from a slap to the helmet - eliminated from the game.
"These 15-yard penalties in big situations that really shouldn't be penalties in the game of football - they change these games," Flacco said. "As a fan, I just don't like it. I want it to be up to us. Getting slapped in the face should not change the game. It really shouldn't."
I asked Joe Flacco if the NFL has a quarterback development problem and he launched an impassioned take on how personal calls have changed games and hurt the position and sport.
- Kevin Clark (@bykevinclark) February 4, 2026
"We signed up to get hurt, you might not like that but it's what we kinda did." Watch: pic.twitter.com/51fkGnMnGY