Are NFL Players Safer Without Hip Drop Tackle?

Last offseason, the NFL decided to ban the hip drop tackle. For those unaware, a hip drop tackle occurs when a tackler wraps up a ball carrier with both hands or arms then swivels his hips and unweights himself (leaves his feet) to complete the tackle. The result of the tackle typically leaves the tackler on the ball carrier’s legs, usually at or below the knee.

During last season, Baltimore TE Mark Andrews was injured on a play where he was on the wrong end of a hip drop tackle. Cincinnati LB Logan Wilson tackled Andrews, rolled up onto his legs, and injured Andrews. (Here’s a clip from YouTube: https://youtu.be/0fa3smREgzo?si=fcEWYRM_buwcAhHS) That Ravens-Bengals game was in Week 11 last season. Andrews would miss the remainder of the 2023 season.

Andrews does not blame Wilson for the injury. In fact, Andrews said he was just doing his job. All NFL defenders – and sometimes offensive players – are taught to tackle properly. On many occasions, the time comes when you simply have to get a player on the ground to stop a play from scoring. Players will use any means necessary, even the hip drop tackle. 

In such a violent game, are NFL players any safer now that the league banned the hip drop tackle?

The NFL Numbers Say Yes

After a number of studies on a huge sample of tackles, the NFL concluded that the hip drop tackle is dangerous. Players are 20 to 25 percent more likely to be injured as the result of a hip drop tackle compared to any other form of tackle. The injuries are usually more serious because they are typically lower leg injuries. Ankle and knee injuries account for most of the missed time by NFL players.

Wide receivers and running backs, along with linebackers and safeties, account for the bulk of NFL injuries. Wide receivers, for example, suffer more knee injuries (16%) than any other. Ankle injuries account for 10% of wide receiver injuries. Those lower leg injuries are more common as the result of a hip drop tackle. Not all lower leg injuries are caused by hip drop tackles. 

Several players and coaches, even legendary head coach Bill Belichick, agreed that banning the hip drop tackle is a good thing. Anything to make the game safer, right? So why did the NFL Players Association oppose the rule?

Assessing & Administering the Penalty

One of the big reasons why the NFLPA opposed banning the hip drop tackle was because of confusion. The tackle as defined involves a tackler grabbing a ball carrier with two hands or wrapping him up in two arms, then unweighting himself and bringing the player to the ground. It is a complete judgment call for an official. Did he leave his feet and unweight himself? Will officials be consistent in calling these penalties?

In the first week of the 2024 NFL season, the league found two instances of hip drop tackles that were not called during their games. The NFL fined the players. Ravens LB Roquan Smith was fined $16,000 for his hip drop tackle on Tampa Bay WR Chris Godwin, but officials missed the call. 

Through mid-October, NFL officials had yet to throw a flag for a hip drop tackle. The NFL, though, found 20 to 25 instances where a hip drop tackle could have been called. The league handed out seven fines for hip drop tackles, but the point here is that calling this penalty in real-time is difficult.

The Real Numbers

In the grand scheme of things, are NFL players any safer without this form of tackling? Well, in 2023, there were a total of 22,469 tackles in the NFL. That includes both the regular season and the postseason. Of those 22K-plus tackles, 230 were deemed hip drop tackles. That means 1.02 percent of all tackles made in the 2023 NFL season were of the hip drop variety. 

Of those 230 occurrences, 15 involved a player missing time as a result of the tackle. That’s 6.5 percent of the hip drop tackles. It’s far less than one percent (.000667) of all tackles that season. Now, no one wants to see any NFL player get hurt and banning this type of tackle is probably a good thing. But, what’s next?

In a game where defenders are tasked with getting ball carriers to the ground (or out of bounds), they will use any means necessary. Officials are at a disadvantage because they see 20K-plus tackles a season and less than one percent of them are hip drop tackles. They just don’t see it enough to make penalty calls consistently. 

Are NFL players safer? Maybe, but it’s a violent game. Players can get hurt any number of ways. The NFL has banned defenders from rolling into a quarterback’s legs. Players can no longer hit defenseless receivers. Is the NFL trying to micromanage every aspect of the game? Some of the game’s top pundits are wondering what may be next. Check out the following video for Pat McAfee’s take on the hip drop tackle.

https://youtube.com/shorts/TPZ1UxI1AlY?si=6ROkmgC6Re68obdX