Derek Carr Wishes William Hayes Had Landed on Him Instead of Injuring Knee

Oakland Raiders quarterback Derek Carr wishes William Hayes used all or most of his body weight to land on him in hindsight after the Miami Dolphins defensive end tore his ACL while attempting to avoid a roughing the passer call. 

"I wish the guy would have just landed on me instead of tearing his ACL. ... For him to tear his ACL, nobody wants that. I don't want that," Carr said, per Michael Gehlken of the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

There is something to be said about a quarterback making these comments since the rule that flags defensive players for landing with all or most of their body weight on a quarterback while attempting a sack is designed to protect the signal-callers.

Carr isn't the only one under center who has raised concerns in the early portion of the 2018 campaign.

"It's a violent sport. It's meant to be that way," Joe Flacco of the Baltimore Ravens said, per Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com. "I definitely have feelings for those guys over there because not only are they penalizing people and affecting outcomes of games but they're also taking paychecks away from people and they're acting like it's no big deal. But it is a big deal. That's a lot of money for anybody. So, there's a lot of issues with it, I think."

Houston Texans quarterback Deshaun Watson has been critical of the rule, as has Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers. Rodgers' criticism is notable because teammate Clay Matthews has been penalized on questionable calls twice already.

According to Herbie Teope of NFL.com, there have already been 34 roughing the passer penalties across the league this season, and there are only three weeks of action in the books. 

Scott Kacsmar of Football Outsiders noted Monday's game between the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Pittsburgh Steelers marked the first time in 18 years each team was flagged multiple times for roughing the passer, and it happened in the first half alone.

The rule has now led to an ACL tear and plenty of criticism even from those it was designed to protect, so expect it to remain in the spotlight as the 2018 season continues.