What is a hip drop tackle? Explaining why NFL banned controversial defensive play

Daniel Mader

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What is a hip drop tackle? Explaining why NFL banned controversial defensive play image

Tackling in the NFL looks a bit different than it did last season. 

After debate over the past few years on whether the hip-drop tackle should be banned, the league announced in March that it would, in fact, be removing the technique as a legal play. It was one of multiple rule changes that went into effect in the 2024 season. 

The change was supported by some players, but it left others — especially defenders — confused about what they can and can't do.

The Sporting News has you covered on what exactly a hip-drop tackle is and why the NFL banned a version of it. 

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What is a hip-drop tackle?

According to a press release from the NFL itself, a hip-drop tackle "occurs when a defender wraps up a ball carrier and rotates or swivels his hips, unweighting himself and dropping onto ball carrier’s legs during the tackle."

It became controversial over time as more players were being injured from the same tackling technique. However, it should be made clear that the league specifically banned the "swivel" hip-drop tackle, which isn't used nearly as often as the normal version. 

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NFL competition chairman Rick McKay clarified that the rule change doesn't ban the hip-drop tackle in general, just if the defender "rotates or swivels" the hips of the ball carrier.

When determining if a defender should be punished for a hip-drop tackle, officials will review two actions: If the defender "Grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms" and also "Unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee."

Examples of the now-banned style of tackling were shown in an NFL press conference in March. 

The league's 32 team owners unanimously voted on the ban. Moving forward, a swivel hip-drop tackle will result in a 15-yard penalty and automatic first down for the offense.

League representatives have said they'll continue to provide context to teams on what is and isn't banned so they can adjust to the change.

Why did the NFL ban hip-drop tackles?

NFL executive vice president Jeff Miller previously said that 15 players missed time last season because of the now-illegal technique — the reason it's banned is simply because of the injury risk it causes.

In its release about the rule change, the NFL said it analyzed over 20,000 tackles over the 2022 and 2023 seasons and came to the conclusion that the hip-drop tackle causes "lower extremity injuries" 20 times more often than other tackling techniques. 

One recent example of how the method has harmed a player is with the Ravens' Mark Andrews. In November 2023, Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson brought Andrews to the ground with a hip-drop tackle that left him injured afterward.

Andrews missed the next two months of Baltimore's season after undergoing surgery for a fractured fibula and ligament damage. 

Per ESPN, Andrews said later on that he was happy about the league banning the swivel hip-drop tackle and that "defenses can find a way to get around that."

"Taking that tackle out of the game is not a bad thing," Andrews said. "You look at the last five years, there's been a lot of big injuries with that. So just bringing the awareness to that type of tackle, I think is good."

Andrews later returned to action for the Ravens in the AFC Championship game, where they fell to the Chiefs. 

The banning of the hip-drop tackle drew criticism from many players in March, mostly the ones doing the tackling themselves — defenders. 

The NFL Players Association released a statement about it as well, saying the change would "cause confusion" for everybody, whether players, coaches, officials, or fans.

Teams have had since March to adjust how their defenders tackle, but there has already been debate about whether something should or shouldn't be considered a hip-drop tackle. Officials have missed a few hip-drop calls in 2024, leading to some players expressing anger over being injured by "illegal" tackles. 

Daniel Mader

Daniel Mader Photo

Daniel Mader joined Sporting News as an editorial intern in 2024 following his graduation from Penn State University. Previously, he covered Penn State, high school and local sports beats for NBC Sports, the Centre Daily Times, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, The Daily Collegian and LancasterOnline. He grew up in Lancaster, Penn., with a love for baseball that’ll never fade, but could also talk basketball or football for days.