Hip-drop tackle could finally be on the way out
The hip-drop tackle claimed another player on Sunday, when Patriots running back Rhamondre Stevenson suffered an apparently serious lower-leg injury.
It will only add momentum toward a potential prohibition of the play.
Per a source with knowledge of the league's thinking, the hip-drop tackle will be addressed in the offseason. And there definitely are key executives within 345 Park Avenue who want to see it gone.
The concern has been exacerbated by injury rate, the time lost to injury, and the reality that multiple season-ending injuries have happened.
The league believes that it would be easy to spot and to flag illegal hip-drop tackles. It involves a gripping of he player, rotation, and a drop to the ground.
After the 2022 season, the league considered dumping the hip-drop tackle but decided to keep it. After the current season, the effort will indeed intensify.
Ultimately, 24 owners will need to be persuaded to dump the hip-drop tackle. Given its very real impact on player health and safety, it's hard to argue in favor of keeping it.
Yes, defensive players need to get offensive players onto the ground. This is one specific technique that, like the long-outlawed horse-collar tackle, creates an unacceptable risk of injury.
