TE Ben Watson Talks Player Safety, Thursday Night Football & More
On March 9, 2016, TE Benjamin Watson was signed a 2-year contract with the Baltimore Ravens worth $7 million with $3 million guaranteed until 2018. On August 27, 2016 during the Ravens' third preseason game, he suffered a torn Achilles tendon, ending his season.
Thursday Night Football has become a topic of heated discussion as of late. The NFL pushes for 18 games and that means there's going to be some weeks that beat and bruised players will take to the field twice in a matter of days without too much time to heal.
Watson says, "100% of the players understand that this is a business. What frustrates players is when you say that you care about the players and safety, but when you look at some of the business tactics and they're not towards player safety...on an individual level, I can tell you there are some people in the league office that do care. They may very well care about the players individually, but they also want fans to watch the game and feel comfortable watching the game."
The Ravens are on a break this week after losing four games in a row. Despite the losses, Watson says there's still a lot of hope in the locker room.
Watson said, "We are dealing with a lot of injuries... it's a tough sport. When you have injuries in key positions, you want that extra time to get guys ready. If you look at our division, it's still up for grabs. The feeling around the locker room is that everything is still in front of us... and it's good to get a little break. So mentally and physically, hopefully we come back refreshed and come back ready to make that push."
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