CINCINNATI – While Cincinnati Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson has — erroneously — been one of the faces of the NFL‘s movement to ban the hip-drop tackle, it was one of his former teammates who plays the same position who was the first to offer public thoughts on it.
Markus Bailey, a 2020 seventh-round pick who was selected two days after the Bengals took Wilson in the third round and is currently a free agent, took to X, formerly Twitter, to express his thoughts on the rule as someone who is going to be most challenged by it.
Bengals’ Markus Bailey Has Concerns With Hip-Drop Ban
Bailey’s initial post was a 370-word tweet on the physics and instincts involved in tackling a 200-pound athlete intent on not letting it happen.
Something else to consider when thinking about the hip-drop tackle.
When open-field tackling, especially when a runner is going forward and towards the sideline on the perimeter, you're supposed to track their inside hip. You do this because it's the most effective way to…
— Markus Bailey (@mb_boiler21) March 26, 2024
Part of his message includes the strategy involved in a tackler dropping his weight:
“Due to the fact that you’re trying to get the ball-carrier down as quickly as possible to limit any excess gain in yardage..and that you’re in a position where you have them wrapped up at an angle to the side as they’re running upfield trying to prevent being tackled, the most effective strategy at that point is to drop your weight and drag the ball-carrier to the ground.
“Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to your own legs, as the defender, swinging through and accidentally landing on the runners legs because of how momentum and gravity work.”
It’s no surprise that Bailey and many other defensive players are against the new rule, as the NLFPA released a statement in staunch opposition to it before the league convened in Orlando, Fla., this week for the annual NFL Owners Meetings.
Our statement on the swivel hip-drop tackle. pic.twitter.com/8mzhjtPgKu
— NFLPA (@NFLPA) March 20, 2024
“The players oppose any attempt by the NFL to implement a rule prohibiting a ‘swivel hip-drop’ tackle,” the NFLPA said in the statement. “While the NFLPA remains committed to improvements to our game with health and safety in mind, we cannot support a rule change that causes confusion for us as players, for coaches, for officials, and especially, for fans. We call on the NFL, again, to reconsider implementing this rule.”
Wilson found himself at the center of the debate around the hip-drop tackle in November after he brought down the Baltimore Ravens’ Mark Andrews near the goal line, with the tight end suffering a broken leg on the play.
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Andrews came out in support of Wilson after the play, as did Cincinnati head coach Zac Taylor. The day after the game, the same one in which quarterback Joe Burrow suffered his season-ending wrist injury, Taylor started to leave his news conference when he stopped, turned around, and went back to the microphone.
“One thing that was frustrating is the narrative that’s been brought up about Logan Wilson,” Taylor said. “Logan is everything we want to be about with the way he plays the game. He plays with a toughness and physicality I think is important at that position. It’s been brought to my attention the narrative that’s out there right now, which I think is completely reckless. He plays the game the right way.
“People have gotten ahead of themselves. Labeled him a certain way. It’s frustrating to see that. I know what the guy is about and that guys are playing the game the right way. He’s a guy I’m proud to coach and proud to be a part of this team. Frustrating and a little bit maddening when you see the narrative about him.”
Wilson addressed the criticism a few days later as well.
#Bengals LB Logan Wilson on the criticism and vitriol directed his way since Thursday night. pic.twitter.com/fCeXgfljRh
— Jay Morrison (@ByJayMorrison) November 22, 2023
“It’s kind of the world we live in right now, and some of it obviously was very unnecessary, coming at me and my family for really no reason,” Wilson said of the vitriol he received on social media. “I wasn’t playing the game dirty. I never wish any harm on any player I ever go against. I play my heart out every game, play my butt off, and sometimes those injuries happen.
“If people would notice,” Wilson continued, “I was one of the first people on a knee when Mark went down because you never want that to happen to a guy. Especially him. He’s a good dude.”
When the NFL owners passed the rule in Orlando, the league put together a video reel of plays that would be flagged moving forward.
Wilson’s tackle of Andrews was not included.
“(That play) isn’t on the video,” said competition committee chairman Rich McKay, according to a story on Bengals.com.
Two videos that were shown involved Bengals players being injured by the type of tackles that will be illegal going forward. One was tight end Drew Sample suffering a season-ending knee injury in Week 2 of 2022 at Dallas. The other was wide receiver Tyler Boyd suffering a game-ending leg injury early in the AFC Championship Game later that season.
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Bailey said he understands the reasoning behind the rule change, but he thinks it’s going to be hard to enforce and will impact some pivotal plays and outcomes of games.
“I understand the sentiment of trying to get the bad ones out of the game, but like most people have been saying, it’s going to be very difficult to police, and I think some big plays in big moments may be overturned because of it,” Bailey tweeted.
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