“I just couldn’t put him in tackle football, only because of everything that’s been going on,” Giancarli said. “I think that the Junior Seau suicide really hit home, too. So we decided to put him in another year of flag, because the impact is significantly less.”

Giancarli hasn’t ruled out the possibility of letting her son play tackle when he gets older. But she hopes he won’t want to.

“I hate to take that experience away from him, especially since we all love the game so much,” Giancarli said. “But I just don’t know if it’s worth it.”

That’s a tough thing to say for Giancarli, a Tampa Bay Buccaneers season-ticket holder who drives all the way from the Fort Lauderdale area to attend games.