The Green Bay Packers' controversial proposal to ban the "tush push" play is the hot topic at the NFL Annual League Meetings.
Whether the play will be allowed going forward will be voted for on April 1, and coaches have come out and made cases for both sides, obviously the Philadelphia Eagles being one of the teams wanting it to stay. But, Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott was perhaps the most critical of the play of all the coaches.
This was surprising given that the Bills were one of just two teams in the NFL to run the play more than five times in 2024, and they were successful at it, too. But, McDermott cites player safety as the main reason he wants teams to take a deeper look at the play.
Coach McDermott has some pull around the league as a member of the NFL's competition committee, which has ten members with only four being coaches.
“My biggest concern is the health and safety of the players, first and foremost," McDermott said. "It’s added force and then the posture of the players being asked to execute that type of play. That’s where my concern comes in. That’s not a healthy posture, to me. Then, when you add force to that posture, that’s concerning for me as to the health and safety of the players… To me, (the Green Bay proposal) takes away the force. Traditional quarterback sneaks have been around for a long time. That’s the context of it that’s important. Then the pushing adds the force piece, and it exponentially raises my concern.”
In terms of the data McDermott mentions, there isn't any evidence at this point that proves the tush push is a dangerous play. It also hasn't been around long enough for there to be loads of player health data on it.
From just the eye test, McDermott has a point, though. It doesn't look natural for a player to be pushed head on into a sea of bodies right after the snap. Sure, the Bills were efficient in running it, but how often are you willing to push your franchise quarterback, and one that's the MVP of the league, into harm's way.
Kansas City Chiefs head coach Andy Reid has his concerns about player safety with the play as well, saying, "It’s a tough play to stop. But then you’re listening to the medical side and you probably can go either way with it. If it’s putting a player in a bad position, then you probably have to do something about it."
Like McDermott, it sounds as if Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh has concerns for his quarterback running the play. "We don’t do it with Lamar. That’s not something that we do," he said. "I feel like it’s a football play. If it’s determined that it’s an injury risk play, which I think is what the doctors are concerned about right now, then that’s something that we have to address."
Even though some high-profile coaches have had their concerns about it, there are teams who don't see a reason to ban it as well. And, it would take 24 votes out of the 32 teams to ban the play. But, whether the league bans it or not, it is a healthy conversation that the NFL needed to have.
The Packers' proposal to the league states that the new rule change would ...
