Roger Goodell speaks out about proposal to ban Eagles’ tush push play

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has broken his silence about the proposal to ban the Philadelphia Eagles’ tush push play. When speaking to reporters at the NFL Annual League Meeting in Palm Beach, Florida, on Tuesday, Goodell explained why banning the play is being considered.

“I think there are safety issues that are being considered. We have very little data, but it’s beyond data,” Roger Goodell said, per Mike Garafolo of the NFL Network. He then said, “There are a lot of plays where you see pushing and pulling that are not in the tush-push formation,” that could be addressed in new language before the meeting in May.

The NFL teams voted on the proposal and decided to table the discussion until next month. According to ESPN’s Kalyn Kahler, 16 NFL teams showed support for the proposal made by the Green Bay Packers. Per NFL bylaws, a minimum of 24 votes are needed to approve the change. As Roger Goodell mentioned, there are safety concerns about the play. But the NFL’s health and safety department had no data that suggested one injury occurred during the play.

Is the tush push on the verge of being banned?

“A lot of teams had a lot of views,” NFL Competition Committee chairman Rich McKay said. “I think No. 1, I’m going to go back to what I said the other day, which is you’d never like any discussion in any room to be projected towards a team or two. It’s never something we’ve ever liked doing.

“So, I think the idea [Tuesday] was, as opposed to voting on this particular proposal today, Green Bay asked, ‘Could we go back and talk about reintroducing the 2004 language, study it, understand it and talk about it again when we get to May.’”

The NFL prohibited players from pushing ball carriers for the majority of its history. That was changed in 2005, as the league said it had a hard time officiating it. The Eagles and the Buffalo Bills were the teams that used the tush push regularly during the 2024 season. Philadelphia won the Super Bowl, and Buffalo reached the AFC Championship game.

“I think it’s an exciting play,” Eagles coach Nick Sirianni said Tuesday. “It was really cool to hear some people talk about it this week and what they think of it, the excitement it brings to the game.”

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