Packers make strategic change to proposal to ban tush push with vote looming

The Green Bay Packers person submitted a alteration to nan norm connection that would prohibition nan tush push, making nan imaginable norm alteration broader successful an effort to summation accrued support for nan prohibition connected nan arguable play. 

The NFL owners will ballot connected nan connection during meetings taking spot successful Minnesota this week, which statesman connected Tuesday and extremity connected Wednesday, aft it had been tabled backmost successful April during convention meetings successful Palm Beach, Florida. 

In nan caller type of nan norm proposal, nan connection read, “offensive players cannot assistance nan runner isolated from by individually blocking opponents for him,” ESPN reported.

It had antecedently included nan phrase, “immediately astatine nan snap.” 

The tush push has go a polarizing play successful nan NFL, popularized by nan Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills. 

Philadelphia Eagles backmost Jalen Hurts, center, and teammates tally nan tush push play during nan NFL title playoff shot crippled against nan Washington Commanders, Sunday, Jan. 26, 2025. AP

The original connection of nan Packers’ connection had seemed to specifically target nan Eagles and Bills by taking distant teams’ expertise to push an violative shot bearer correct astatine nan snap.

With nan connection change, nan NFL would revert to a norm that had been successful spot up until 2005. 

ESPN Research recovered that nan tush push was utilized successful only 0.28% of full plays past year, pinch nan Bills and Eagles being nan 2 teams to tally nan play nan most. 

Jalen Hurts #1 of nan Philadelphia Eagles gets a tush push for a touchdown during Super Bowl LIX betwixt nan Kansas City Chiefs and nan Philadelphia Eagles connected Sunday February 9, 2025 astatine nan Caesars Superdome. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

“The result of those 0.28% of plays is improbable to alteration — teams are gonna get nan sneak sloppy of nan push,” one root told Yahoo Sports. “Even erstwhile you watch nan play. Sometimes nan pusher doesn’t moreover get to make interaction pinch [Jalen] Hurts. 

“Other times he does, but it’s aft nan first down was reached.”

For nan mobility to pass, 24 of nan 32 NFL owners will request to o.k. nan connection and it seems for illustration it’s up successful nan aerial if location is capable support. 

ESPN reported successful April that 16 teams were successful favour and 16 were against nan ban.