NFL bans hip-drop tackle, adjusts challenge rules

The NFL competition committee has banned the hip-drop tackle, committee chairman Rich McKay announced Monday.

It was a unanimous vote to outlaw the technique, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport.

The penalty for a hip-drop tackle will be a loss of 15 yards and an automatic first down.

Data indicated that the hip-drop tackle had an injury rate 20-25 times higher than that of other tackles, according to Yahoo Sports' Jori Epstein.

"This will be a hard one to call on the field, you have to see every element of it," McKay said, per Rapoport. "We want to make it a rule so we can deal on the discipline during the week."

The new penalty seeks to prevent defenders from dropping their weight onto the legs of offensive players. Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews missed seven games, including the playoffs, after suffering an ankle injury on a hip-drop tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals. Linebacker Logan Wilson dropped his weight to bring Andrews down from behind but landed on his ankle.

Former Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard suffered a broken leg on a hip-drop tackle during the 2022 playoffs against the San Francisco 49ers.

In addition to the hip-drop ban, the NFL made a change to the rules regarding challenges. Teams will now earn a third challenge if one of their first two is successful. Previously, a team would've needed to win both challenges to earn a third. This change "barely" passed, McKay said, according to NFL Network's Andrew Siciliano.

The committee also adjusted the language for situations where there are fouls by both teams accompanied by a change of possession, allowing for offensive unnecessary roughness or unsportsmanlike conduct fouls to be enforced prior to the change.

On top of the new rule changes, the replay assistant will now be permitted to correct obviously incorrect roughing the passer and intentional grounding fouls, McKay told NFL Network's Tom Pelissero. These corrections must be entirely objective, such as a defender not making contact with a quarterback's head or a passer definitely being outside of the pocket.

A change to how kickoffs are handled continues to be discussed, but no decision was made Monday. It could still be put to a vote Tuesday, McKay said, per Siciliano.