Hip-Drop Tackle Penalty Among NFL's Proposed Rule Changes Amidst Ravens Controversy
The play that indirectly cost Mark Andrews part of his 2023 season could wind up costing teams 15 yards.
A penalty for hip-drop tackles will be one of several rule adjustments that the 32 NFL team overseers will vote upon come next week's owners meetings in Orlando. Andrews, the Baltimore Ravens' star tight end, missed seven games after Cincinnati Bengals defender Logan Wilson brought him down by the technique in a November game. He eventually returned for a reduced role in the AFC title game over two months later.
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Under the proposed change, suggested by the NFL Competition Committee, a defender that "grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms and unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner's leg(s) at or below the knee" will be charged with 15 yards and an automatic first down for the offense.
Penalizing hip-drop tackles has drawn a polarizing response: a report from Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports declares that "NFL officials believe they can correctly call the infraction" while defenders are tepid about another potentially costly penalty in a modern game that seemingly caters to high-scoring affairs and big games.
"I hate that Mark is hurt. Prayers for him. But at the end of the day, we play football," then-Ravens linebacker Patrick Queen said of Wilson's hit, per Ryan Mink of the official team site. "We play a tackling sport. I don't think a hip-drop tackle is that bad of a thing. How else do you want us to tackle? Just let the guy run past you?"
The hip-drop flag and other changes will require the approval of 24 owners to pass. Other proposed changes include a revamped kickoff procedure, turning an onside kick attempt into a 20-yard fourth down attempt (proposed by Philadelphia), and allowing missed delay-of-games to be reviewed.
