NFL defenders will have one fewer tool in their toolboxes next season.
In a unanimous decision, the league’s competition committee banned the controversial hip-drop tackle, which caused multiple notable injuries in recent seasons. The NFL’s decision was made despite opposition from players and the NFL Players Association.
What Is a Hip-Drop Tackle?
The hip-drop tackle became a topic of conversation throughout last season and into the offseason. But many fans might not know what it actually is, and why it’s considered dangerous.
Rich McKay, the chairman of the NFL’s competition committee, gave this explanation during the NFL’s league meetings last October:
“What’s happening on the hip-drop is the defender is encircling tackling the runner and then swinging their weight and falling on the side of their leg, which is their ankle or their knee,” McKay said.
“When they use that tactic, you can see why they do, because it can be a smaller man against a bigger man, and they’re trying to get that person down because that’s the object of the game.
“But when they do it, the runner becomes defenseless. They can’t kick their way out from under. And that’s the problem. That’s where the injury occurs. You see the ankle get trapped underneath the weight of the defender.”
Here’s the video the NFL just showed in a press conference of what are now banned swivel hip-drop tackles (with NFL executive Jeff Miller speaking in the background). pic.twitter.com/Y4H8h6pQkW
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 25, 2024
The technique will be illegal next season. However, NFL officials are unlikely to consistently penalize players for executing hip-drop tackles, according to CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones.
NFL Media’s Tom Pelissero added fines will be more common than penalties as the league allows coaches to work on removing the common technique.
Examples of Injuries Caused By Hip-Drop Tackles
The NFL wants to remove techniques, like the hip-drop tackle, that cause potentially serious injuries. And injuries to notable players in recent seasons helped to put the hip-drop tackle under the spotlight.
During a 2022 season playoff game, Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard suffered a fractured fibula and a high ankle sprain while being tackled by then-San Francisco 49ers safety Jimmie Ward.
Replay of Jimmie Ward tackle on Tony Pollard#DallasCowboys 6 #49ers 6 2ɴᴅ pic.twitter.com/MnoYR8mtIP
— Sᴘᴏʀᴛs 24/7 (@Sports_24x7_) January 23, 2023
In Week 4 of last season, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith suffered a knee injury due to a hip-drop tackle that he later called a “dirty play.”
#Seahawks QB Geno Smith told @saltersl that the Isaiah Simmons tackle was a "dirty play" and there's "no place in this sport for that."
"I don't respect that type of stuff. You don't need to take shots at guys running out of bounds on the sidelines."pic.twitter.com/rhgMHTpT9a
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 3, 2023
During the Week 12 edition of Thursday Night Football in 2023, Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews suffered an ankle injury that wiped out the rest of his regular season.
Here's the play where Mark Andrews was injured. He's now in the medical tent for further evaluation.pic.twitter.com/CdMtk7cB0y
— Pro Football Network (@PFN365) November 17, 2023
The following week, New England Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson suffered an ankle injury that forced him to miss the rest of the campaign.
Looks like a hip-drop tackle is what injured Rhamondre Stevenson…
Stevenson has been ruled out of the game with an ankle injury because of this tackle. pic.twitter.com/6IAzUSS7v0
— NFL Retweet (@NFLRT) December 3, 2023
And those are just a few examples. However, despite the dangerous nature of the hip-drop tackle, many players — including Pollard and Stevenson — don’t believe the technique should be banned.
NFL’s Banning of Hip-Drop Tackles Won’t Be Popular Among Players
Many players believe the NFL is legislating too many core techniques out of the game. And it’s not just defensive players who want the hip-drop tackle to remain legal.
“There’s been a lot of rule changes since I came into the league, right?” Patriots center David Andrews said after Stevenson suffered his injury. “We used to be able to cut on the perimeter. (Defenders) used to be able to cut us on the perimeter. … You’re going to eventually take away everything in the game.
“It’s the defense’s job to tackle guys, and I don’t think people are doing that with malicious intent. Eventually, you keep taking away certain plays, taking away certain plays, taking away this, taking away that, what’s going to be left of the game? Look, it’s an unfortunate reality of this game, and no one wants to see that.”
Ezekiel Elliott, who was with the Cowboys when Pollard suffered his injury, was in agreement with Andrews.
“I don’t know how you can necessarily eliminate that tackle,” Elliott said in December. “At some point, you’re going to make it two-hand touch. You’ve got a bunch of unnecessary roughness. I don’t know how guys come in and hit or come in and make tackles. It seems like it’s always a different rule on how they can play.”
Last week, the NFLPA made its feelings on the hip-drop tackle perfectly clear.
“The players oppose any attempt by the NFL to implement a rule prohibiting a ‘swivel hip-drop’ tackle,” the NFLPA said in a 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.”
Nevertheless, the hip-drop tackle is now illegal, and players must adjust.
KEEP READING: NFL Players Sound Off on Hip-Drop Tackle Being Banned – ‘What Is This League Becoming?’
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