Tim Benz: Applauding the Watt brothers’ rebuke of Jaylen Warren’s fines; concerns about NFL’s increasing flag football approach
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On Tuesday, Steelers linebacker T.J. Watt lashed out at the NFL for fining teammate Jaylen Warren $48,000 (twice) for lowering his helmet. The second-year running back only makes $870,000 before taxes and fees. That’s 11% of his income.
Here are the plays.
These two plays got Jaylen Warren fined a total of $96,889.
I don't think either one of them drew a flag at the time.
That's absolutely awful from the NFL. pic.twitter.com/ehetDxlid8
— Sam Monson (@PFF_Sam) October 30, 2023
“I think it’s extremely egregious the amount of money a guy like that is being fined. It’s ridiculous,” Watt said.
Agreed.
Now Warren is hearing support from another defensive superstar — who also happens to be another Watt.
Future Hall of Famer J.J. Watt went on Pat McAfee’s show Wednesday and blasted the NFL over the Warren situation. Watt posted one of the links to the video that got Warren fined. He said many of his replies were words to the effect of “I can’t even tell which player we should be looking at.”
It’s Watt’s contention that if people have to work that hard to see an infraction (allegedly) missed by the referees in real time, maybe it’s not worthy of such a hefty fine.
“If we’re having to do that, maybe we shouldn’t be taking the guy’s entire paycheck. He’s playing for free. He’s literally going out there and playing for free. Two weeks in a row,” Watt said. “What do you want him to do? It’s a 300-pound man.”
Watt wasn’t done.
“Let’s talk about cut blocks. Let’s talk about a tight end coming across the formation throwing his head at the knee of a player. Trying to wipe out a player. Perfectly legal according to the rulebook,” Watt said. “Literally, the goal of a cut block is to blow somebody’s knee out. We’re OK with that. But we’re going to take this guy’s whole paycheck because he tried to block a 300-pounder?”
Could someone on the edit desk please insert the applause emoji here for me? Hold on. This will do.
By the way, is anyone else excited to see Joaquin
Wait. Where was I? Oh, that’s right. Commissioner Roger Goodell’s intentional ruination of the once-great game of professional football.
Sorry. Back to the thought already in progress.
Watt then made a point that I’ve brought up since the news came out about flag football getting into the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
“The discussions of flag football? Now we’re getting it into the Olympics. I love flag football. It’s a great sport. But we are literally headed towards that direction as a league. If that’s what you want to be as a league, fine. Just say it. But I don’t like this middle ground that we are in right now,” Watt said.
Watt is 100% right. The exaggerated statement that the NFL “wants to turn itself into flag football” used to be nothing but a cliched trope that angry sports-talk-radio callers busted out when their favorite team lost after a questionable unnecessary roughness penalty.
It’s not hyperbole anymore. It really feels like the NFL is laying a foundation for the game to go in that direction. It has embraced and promoted the growth of flag football more and more every year since it settled the concussion lawsuit in 2013.
That’s smart because it probably keeps leery parents willing to let their kids participate in some sort of football at young ages if it’s not full tackle.
But the Olympics angle feels like a massive step towards mainstream normalization and acceptance of the idea that flag football is a “real” sport and not just something for youth and recreational league entertainment.
Want some evidence? Go back and watch this pregame interview from NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” broadcast last week. The endorsement from NFL players who want to “get a team together” for the 2028 games is … hmmmm … let’s just say, prominently mentioned.
Mike Tirico speaks with Casey Wasserman about the addition of flag football to the @LA28 Olympics. pic.twitter.com/zTtf08SCx6
— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) October 29, 2023
“Well, if the players love flag football as an Olympic (or professional) sport, I should, too” is what Goodell was hoping every fan watching that simultaneously thought.
Think I’m exaggerating? OK. Watch the Olympic coverage from NBC (an NFL broadcast partner) in 2028 — and the continuing rules changes between now and then.
Let’s reconvene on this point and see how much further down the path we are. I’m expecting to be disturbed.
Listen: Tim Benz and Jon Burton of News Channel 5 in Nashville discuss Thursday night’s Steelers-Titans game.