At least one opponent of a popular style of quarterback sneak is seeking its termination.
One team has submitted a proposal to ban the play known as the tush push, ߣÏÈÉúAV EVP of football operations Troy Vincent told ߣÏÈÉúAV Network Senior National Columnist Judy Battista on Monday. Vincent did not identify the club, but ߣÏÈÉúAV Network Insider Tom Pelissero later reported it was the Green Bay Packers who proposed the ban.
"I'm aware of [the proposal]," Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst told reporters on Tuesday. "We really haven't had very many discussions about it. I'm sure we will over the next few weeks as we head into the owners' meetings. So I'm aware that we did, but really haven't had many discussions about it.
"I know we're not very successful against it, I know that, but to be honest, I haven't put much thought into it. It's been around for a while. We've used it in different fashions with a tight end."
Though its roots can be traced back to the most basic quarterback sneaks, the tush push -- also known as the "Brotherly Shove" -- originated in Philadelphia, where the Eagles popularized the play by lining up two teammates behind quarterback Jalen Hurts, who receives the snap, lunges forward and, with the push of his two fellow Eagles from behind, attempts to gain the necessary yardage for a fresh set of downs or a touchdown.
The play has been incredibly effective for the Eagles, so much that Hurts finished in a tie for the fifth-most rushing touchdowns (14) in 2024. Many ߣÏÈÉúAV clubs have attempted to replicate the play in their own fashion, with some choosing a side of the line, and others building in misdirection elements that see the ball carrier target an angle outside of the A-gap. None, however, have done it as well as the Eagles, who even drew Washington offside on multiple consecutive attempts during the NFC Championship Game in January.
The tush push has drawn the ire of opponents, leading to the proposal Vincent revealed Monday. Justifying its illegality, however, could be difficult.
Essentially, a potential clash of ideologies is being set up within the ߣÏÈÉúAV's competition committee and annual consideration of proposals.
Last year, the league's owners approved the new dynamic kickoff format and banned the hip-drop tackle. Outlawing the "Brotherly Shove" was not on the agenda.
"Hip drop and the tush push were in the same conversation three years ago," Vincent told Battista. "A year ago, we felt like let's just focus in on the hip-drop tackle, and the tush push, just say, hey, the Philadelphia Eagles, they just do it better than everybody else. But there are some concerns. Our health and safety committee has laid that out today with a brief conversation on the injury report. There's some challenges, some concerns that they'll share with the broader group tomorrow. But the tush push will become a topic of discussion moving into March."
Bills head coach Sean McDermott, one of four ߣÏÈÉúAV coaches on the league's competition committee, was asked about the proposal on Monday during his ߣÏÈÉúAV Scouting Combine news conference.
"There's always been injury risk, and I've expressed that opinion over the last couple of years when it really started to come into play the way it's being used, especially a year ago," McDermott said. "I just feel like player safety and the health and safety of our players has to be at the top of our game, which it is. It's just that play to me – or the way that the techniques that are used with that play to me – have been potentially contrary to the health and safety of the players. Again, you have to go back in fairness to the injury data on the play, but I just think the optics of it, I'm not in love with."
The competition committee will have a month to prepare its arguments before the Annual League Meeting, which begins on March 30.
