The more I hear about the new helmet rule Danny Shelton Jersey , the more concerned I am that NFL football will be changing so dramatically that it may become unrecognizable. Bit by bit, tweak by tweak, rule change by rule change, the game could — in the name of player safety, an admirable goal — become so safe that it fundamentally changes.

It’s an evolution that, when looking back over 20 years Eli Manning Jersey , feels more like a revolution. The NFL, after decades of denial regarding the risks of head trauma, apparently believes that the game must become safer in order to sustain its supply of players. At some point, however, fans of football the way it used to be played will feel alienated. And the risk isn’t that they’ll shun football; it’s that they’ll clamor for old-school football, and that a billionaire entrepreneur eventually will give it to them.

The latest step toward the far side of the Rubicon comes not from the changes to the kickoff rule (the kickoff is already dead Bobby Hebert Jersey , even if no one realizes it) but from the latest disclosure regarding the true extent of the new helmet rule. After two months of uncertainty, we now know that it applies not only in the open field but also in the trenches, where the task of sifting through bodies and spotting blows inflicted with a helmet on a consistent and fair basis becomes virtually impossible. Depending on how the rule ultimately is enforced, the between-the-tackles running game could wither, skewing the game even more toward glorified seven-on-seven drills.

Again, the goal is admirable. But football isn’t the only violent or risky endeavor. If the players willingly participate in the unsanitized version of the game (and at this point there’s no way any player can claim he doesn’t know the risks) and if fans willingly consume football as it historically has been played Brandon Parker Jersey , is that a problem?

Apparently it is. Apparently the NFL thinks that parents will determine whether football is something that their children should play based not on the rules and realities of the youth version of the sport but on the images that emerge from the flat screen on Thursdays, Sundays, and Mondays.

For more on the helmet rule and my concerns regarding how it emerged and where it may be taking the game, check out the opening segment of Wednesday’s PFT Live.

Two-time All-Pro right guard Zack Martin missed the first session of the Dallas Cowboys‘ voluntary offseason practices and wasn’t expected to take part Wednesday while working on a contract extension.

Martin, an All-Pro in 2014 and 2016, was on site doing off-field work Tuesday.

Martin is in the fifth year of his rookie contract at a salary of $9.4 million. The Cowboys drafted him out of Notre Dame with the 16th overall pick in 2014. He has started all 67 games in the regular season and playoffs for the Cowboys.

”He’s one of the best players we have Ray Nitschke Jersey ,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. ”He represents everything we want. We want him to be here for a long, long time. But there’s a business side to this, and we all understand that.”

Andrew Norwell, an All-Pro last season for the Carolina Panthers, signed a five-year contract in March with the Jacksonville Jaguars for $66 million.

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