The NFL is considering another rule change. The “cousin” of the horse collar tackle is to be banned in the future. The injury rate is rising – Ravens star Mark Andrews is the next prominent victim.

Will the NFL soon be adapting another controversial rule? As “NBC Sports” reported back in mid-October, the league is considering a ban on the “hip-drop tackle”.

In this type of tackle, a defender pulls his opponent to the ground by his hips using his own body weight.

During the Baltimore Ravens’ victory over the Cincinnati Bengals in the Thursday Night Game of week eleven, the controversial tackle claimed its next prominent victim.

Tight end Mark Andrews suffered a serious ankle injury when he was tackled by Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson. “It looks like the season is over for him,” Ravens head coach John Harbaugh said after the game.

The fact that it had to come to this in the first place was a source of horror for fans and experts alike. “It was definitely a hip-drop tackle,” Harbaugh clarified. “It’s being discussed. It’s a hard tackle. Was it even necessary in that situation? “

NFL informed of increased injury risk from “hip-drop tackles “

NFL executive Jeff Miller is said to have pointed out the danger of the tackle at a league meeting a few weeks ago. The risk of injury is said to increase by 25 times that of a standard tackle.

“It’s an inexcusable behavior and one that we need to try to define and take out of the game,” the Associated Press quoted Miller as saying, continuing: “We see a hip-drop tackle injury more or less every week in the regular season.”

Football fans have probably been familiar with the tackle since the 2022 playoffs at the latest. Back then, both Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes and Cowboys running back Tony Pollard injured their hips by being pulled down.

For the latter, the season ended prematurely. Pollard broke his thigh and injured several ligaments in his ankle.

Banning the “hip-drop tackle”: rugby league leads the way

The tackle has recently been banned in the National Rugby League in Australia.

In the NFL, the “horse collar tackle” was already banned in 2005. A tackle that Rich McKay, chairman of the NFL competition committee, describes as a “cousin” of the hip-drop tackle.

“What happens in the hip-drop is that the defender grips the runner, shifts his weight and falls on the side of the leg, so on the ankle or the knee,” “NBC Sport” quotes McKay. And further:

“When players do that, the runner becomes defenseless. He can no longer wriggle out of cover. And that’s the problem. That’s where the injury occurs. You can see how the ankle gets trapped under the weight of the defender.”

A ban on the tackle was not brought up at the 32-team owners meeting before the season and was discussed as a possible rule change.