“Tackling Banned”: Dolphins Star Joins JJ Watt in Blasting NFL’s Hip-Drop Tackle Ruling

After weeks of speculation, the verdict is finally out. Despite stars like Tyreek Hill getting injured due to this maneuver, most NFL players were in support of it. But at the Orlando meeting, the team owners and coaches have voted to ban the “hip-drop” tackle move. This comes as a disappointment to many players. And this decision is going to hurt defensive players more than anyone else. Dolphins’ Safety Jevon Holland took to X to share the news.

Former Cardinals DE JJ Watt didn’t mince words and made it clear that he didn’t want the ban to happen. He said that the NFL will soon become a diluted version of itself, like flag football. “Just fast forward to the belts with flags on them…”

Eagles’ CB Darius Slay dealt with the blow with humor, saying, “It’s about to be a lot of miss tackles 😂”.

DJ Reader was also not in favor of the ban. He said that the NFL was getting “crazy” with their rules.

However, most of the anti-ban voices were from the players themselves. The NFL and team ownership, however, was in favor of the ban.

NFL wants to push for player safety

Jeff Miller, the NFL’s executive vice president, highlighted the gravity of this decision by pointing out that last season alone saw 230 instances of this tackling technique, which unfortunately led to 15 players being sidelined due to injuries. Some of the big names include Tyreek and Patrick Mahomes. Mahomes suffered a high ankle sprain in the divisional round of the playoffs in 2023 due to being tackled by Jaguars DL Arden Key.

The tackle in question is notorious for causing injuries to the lower extremities of players. The new rule outlines specific criteria for officials to look out for, namely if a defender “grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms” and then proceeds to “unweight 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.” This careful delineation aims to safeguard players from potential harm while maintaining the integrity and competitive spirit of the game.

If an official spots this maneuver during a game, the offending team will be penalized with a 15-yard setback. However, Troy Vincent, who oversees football operations for the NFL, instead of immediate penalties during the game, players might first receive warning letters, followed by fines.

With this ban, defensive linemen will need to come up with alternative tackling techniques to comply with the new rule. This is obviously added pressure on them as they’ll be more restricted now. We’ll only come to how this rule affects games once the 2024 season rolls in.

Read More: NFL EVP Supports Roger Goodell’s Stance to Ban Hip Drop Tackle: “Something We Want to Get Out the Game”