Report: NFL likely to ban Eagles' tush push due to liability concerns

Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio, who is both a sportswriter and a lawyer, believes the NFL will ban the tush push because of injury liability concerns.

The Green Bay Packers and others who support banning the play cited "player safety" (as well as pace of play issues) ahead of a contemplated vote at the recently-concluded NFL Annual Meeting. The vote was tabled when it became clear that the ban effort did not have enough support among teams owners.

Green Bay's proposal failed to garner enough support, at least in part, because data did not support the idea that the push is more dangerous than other football plays. No known injuries have been linked to the play.

© Bill Streicher | 2024 Dec 15

But.

Florio notes that "NFL chief medical officer Allen Sills harped on the injury risk, to league staff, the Competition Committee, coaches, and owners" at the Annual Meeting. Now, says Florio, "Even if the data doesn’t support it, Sills’s adoption of a hair-on-fire posture (possibly at the nudging of those who want to kill the play, including the Commissioner) becomes a massive problem for the league if/when a serious injury happens during a tush-push play."

"By introducing the vague possibility of a catastrophic injury on the tush push," writes Florio, "the eventual reality (if it happens) of a catastrophic injury makes those remarks a goldmine for proof of league liability."

For that reason alone, Florio argues that the anti-tush push forces will soon get their ban.

It would be somewhat ridiculous for the NFL to ban the play on injury-related grounds before any injury occurs. But Florio's argument is strong. Many in the league want the play banned, the league's lawyers will probably push for the same because of Sills' remarks, and--fair or not--the Eagles will probably go back to old-fashioned QB sneaks.

First down conversion rate:

The #Eagles running the "Tush Push" (2022-2024) -- 91.3%

The #Eagles running the QB sneak (2021) -- 92.9%

(It's higher running the QB sneak)

— Jeff Kerr (@JeffKerrCBS) April 2, 2025

But if teams think that simply banning the tush push will slow down the Super Bowl Champion Eagles, they are probably in for an unpleasant surprise.