Packers' proposal to ban tush push fails

The Eagles led the opposition to the measure, and the Ravens, Patriots, Jets, and Lions were among the teams to join them, according to Schefter. John Harbaugh, Mike Vrabel, and Dan Campbell all came out against the ban during league meetings in Florida in March. Aaron Glenn spent the last four seasons under Campbell in Detroit, and his new quarterback in New York, Justin Fields, has converted 11 of 12 push sneaks in his career, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. Baltimore has also found some success with their version of the play featuring tight ends Mark Andrews and Charlie Kolar.

The NFL’s committees on competition and healthy and safety both endorsed the proposal ahead of the owners’ meeting this morning, per Russini, as did commissioner Roger Goodell, according to Jordan Schultz of FOX Sports. That led to increasing belief that the tush push ban would be successful, per FOX Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano, though some owners remained uncertain, as noted by Mark Maske of The Washington Post.

The Eagles then launched an all-out effort to rally opposition during today’s meeting with owner Jeffrey Lurie, assistant general manager Jon Ferrari, and former center Jason Kelce speaking for almost an hour, per Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. The main thrust of Philadelphia’s argument was their belief that the tush push is actually safer than the traditional quarterback sneak, which was one of their reasons for adopting the play originally, according to Bleacher Report’s James Palmer.

“Whoever votes to ban this play is taking liability for putting risk on our quarterbacks,” said Lurie (via Russini). Following his “passionate but fair” speech, Kelce addressed safety concerns accompanied by video footage, per CBS Sports’ Jonathan Jones. Other owners who spoke at the meeting were Jerry Jones (Cowboys), Jed York (49ers), and Terry Pegula (Bills), per Breer.

The meeting then moved into a ‘privileged session’ in which only owners and family are allowed for a vote, according to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero. After announcing the decision, owners returned to the privileged session for further discussion on the tush push, per Maske, though it’s unlikely another vote would yield a different result.

The NFL did unanimously approve a proposal to modify the onside kick, according to Breer. Teams who are trailing may now declare an onside kick at any time and can line up even with the ball at the 35-yard line. Previously, only the kicker could line up with the ball with the other 10 players at the 34.