NFL Players Rage At Approval Of Controversial Tackling Rule That Will Make Playing Defense Even Harder

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The NFL has officially voted to ban the “hip drop tackle” at the 2024 League Meetings, which are being held in Orlando from March 24 to March 27.

According to reports, the competition committee voted unanimously to change the rule. Teams flagged for hip drop tackles will be penalized 15 yards. An automatic first down will also be given to the offense.

The NFL’s Competition Committee has officially defined a hip drop tackle as when a player “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.”

Here’s an example of a hip drop tackle, which happened in a 2022 bowl game between Memphis and Utah State. The quarterback in the clip, Cooper Legas, had to exit the game with an injury, although he did avoid tearing his ACL.

The concern for the NFL is what you see in the clip — the weight of an offensive player’s single leg being folded under the entire bodyweight of the defender.

Before the vote at the annual League Meetings, NFL executive VP of football operations Troy Vincent, a former receiver,  reiterated that the hip-drop tackle was “something we want to get out of the game.”

The NFL’s decision is sure to be a controversial one, however, as former and current stars such as Richard Sherman and Cam Jordan previously expressed opposition to the rule.

After news of the rule change broke, former and current NFL players such as JJ Watt, Terrell Burgess, Lonnie Johnson Jr., Jevon Holland, and Josha Metellus all took to Twitter to complain about the decision. Even Mike Davis, a running back, said that the league’s decision is “wild.”.