Ex-NFL star Joe Horn believes NFL should be touch or flag football

Fox News Flash top headlines for August 29

Fox News Flash top headlines for August 29 are here. Check out what's clicking on Foxnews.com

Four-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Joe Horn understands the NFL is a different game than when he played with the New Orleans Saints.

In an interview with USA Today Wednesday, Horn, whose sons play football at the high school, college and professional level, said he would be fine if the game switched to touch or flag football by the time all three were eligible for the NFL.

SUSPENDED BROWNS RB HUNT WON'T BE WITH TEAM DURING BAN

“It might be touch football by then. And you know what? That’s good,” he told USA Today. “Because if the people pay millions of dollars — if they pay their hard-earned money to see superstar athletes play tag football, it is what it is. It’s more safe.”

The 47-year-old said retired football players can say that the old days were better, but “if you’re retired and you have kids that love the game of football — you really don’t want them coming up and playing like we played.”

Horn, who also played for the Kansas City Chiefs and Atlanta Falcons during his 12-year career, said he felt better about the NFL attempting to advance safety efforts for players but it’s difficult to make the sport completely safe.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS' KEENAN ALLEN THROWS COLD WATER ON CARLI LLOYD'S NFL INTEREST

“I think it should be flag football. I think the fans would still pay to see it,” Horn said. “It’s hard to make it safe now. It’s hard for a guy to go full speed at you and stop in the middle of him going full speed, duck his head and not hit you with the helmet that he has on.”

Horn had previously mentioned the NFL should be flag football in a 2013 interview with 710 KEEL. While he initially said making football safe was impossible, he still believed that changing the sport to flag football or two-hand touch would still draw fans.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

“Everyone is going to love NFL football, whether it is two-hand touch, flag football, doesn't matter,” he told the station. “No one is going to stop watching it. I don't care how you make the game. If they can get elite player athletes to throw the ball, run and catch — that's all the fans really want to see.”