This offseason, it seems that the NFL is looking to ban the hip drop style of tackle, where players wrap their arms around an opponent from behind and drag them down. And the reason is pretty clear – it’s more dangerous than the average tackle in the NFL, and it’s becoming more prevalent.
On Monday, NFL Executive Vice President Jeff Miller revealed that the league’s research shows that the injury rate on hip drop tackles is significantly higher than on other tackles, and the pervasiveness of the tackle is only increasing.
“Jeff Miller says the injury rate on hip drop tackles is 20-25 times greater than on other tackles — about an injury a week that leads to lost time. In studying 20,000 tackles over the last few years, Miller said use of hip drop tackles is increasing, up 50% year over year,” Judy Battista of the NFL Network said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
Jeff Miller says the injury rate on hip drop tackles is 20-25 times greater than on other tackles — about an injury a week that leads to lost time. In studying 20,000 tackles over the last few years, Miller said use of hip drop tackles is increasing, up 50% year over year.
— Judy Battista (@judybattista) February 26, 2024
Miller said “It’s certainly my hope” that the league bans the hip drop tackle this offseason, revealing that it is challenging to write a rule in a way that can be officiating. The league is in the process of writing such a rule, but he said they are in the “rough, rough, rough drafting stages” of the rule.
We’ll have to see whether or not the rule is put in place before the start of the 2024 NFL season.
