On Monday, the NFL officially adopted what is being termed the new “hip drop rule.” The rule outlaws a type of tackle the NFL Competition Committee says occurred about once per game last season and resulted in an injury rate 20 times a normal tackle.
The ‘hip-drop tackle that is no longer allowed consists of three components. Here’s the specific language from the initial rule proposal:
- Grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms
- Lifts themselves off the ground (not officially listed in the rule, but emphasized by the competition committee)
- 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
The NFL Competition Committee also provided an example of these plays:
Here’s the video the NFL just showed in a press conference of what are now banned swivel hip-drop tackles (with NFL executive Jeff Miller speaking in the background).