PALM BEACH, Florida − Mark Murphy thinks a ban on the Tush Push still has a decent chance of passing at the NFL’s next owners meetings in May.
Murphy, the Green Bay Packers president and CEO, said the league will revisit the language of the ban and instead of banning the Tush Push specifically will propose prohibiting pushing of any ball carrier. Pushing a ball carrier was prohibited until around the 2004 season, when the league lifted the ban.
When asked whether he thinks the push ban will eventually pass, Murphy said: “I think so, we’ll see. I think it will probably still be a good discussion, and you now need three-quarters (to pass the ban).”
Murphy, who spoke with reporters Tuesday afternoon at the NFL owners meetings, said the Packers had two main issues with the push play.
One was for player safety. Though the Tush Push thus far hasn’t produced a higher rate of injuries statistically, Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, spoke to the owners about the risk of “catastrophic” injury (i.e., to the neck or spine) because of the extra force generated from the push.
“He felt very strongly it was just a question of when there would be a catastrophic injury with this,” Murphy said.
Second, Murphy said he doesn’t think it’s a true football play and often slows the pace of the game, as it did in the NFC championship game when Washington was penalized multiple times for offsides when trying to anticipate the snap and jumping over the line trying to stop it.
“I don’t think that’s good for the game,” Murphy said.
Murphy’s last ‘annual’ owners meetings
Murphy still has one more owners meeting in May before his official mandatory retirement this summer, but this was his final appearance as Packers CEO at the most prominent owners meeting of the year, commonly known as the annual owners meeting.
He’ll be succeeded by Ed Policy, the team’s COO and general counsel.
“I’m very fortunate, I’m blessed,” Murphy said. “My wife and I say I’m an owner without the money. It’s a ‘phowner,’ is what she calls it. I think it’s one of the very best jobs in all of professional sports. We have a great structure, we’ve had success, and I’m very confident it will continue. Bob Harlan left it in great shape for me, and hopefully I’m doing the same for Ed. Hopefully Ed will have an 18-year run like Bob and I did.”
Murphy thinks the Packers are in good position to compete for the Super Bowl, as GM Brian Gutekunst said shortly after last season.
“We’re set up to win, I think we’ll do well,” Murphy said. “It ...