The Philadelphia Eagles are facing a potentially critical moment in the 2025 season – before it has even started.
The Green Bay Packers proposed a ban to the Eagles’ signature play, the “tush push”, prior to the ongoing league meeting. A proposal that has very much divided the football world, with coaches coming forth both in favour of and against the contentious play.
With reports coming out last week that there was some growing momentum towards the play getting banned, the motion was tabled – and will likely be next visited during the owners’ meeting in mid-May, with 16 out of the 24 needed teams expressing support to can the push.
And whilst play will not ultimately have a final decision prior to May’s meeting, a key figure has offered his support for one side – in the form of long-time NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell – per lead CBS NFL insider, Jonathan Jones.
Roger Goodell: I think there are safety issues being considered with the tush push. We have very little data but we see the potential risk. It makes a lot of sense to go back to the old rule prohibiting pulling or pushing ball carriers.
â Jonathan Jones (@jjones9) April 1, 2025
https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js
Goodell notes that there are potential safety concerns regarding the play, and ultimately seems to be in favor of getting rid of the tush push.
“I think there are safety issues being considered with the tush push. We have very little data but we see the potential risk. It makes a lot of sense to go back to the old rule prohibiting pulling or pushing ball carriers.”
Is There Evidence To Support Health Risks Of The Tush Push?
No data has been made publicly available that would indicate that the push – or indeed “Brotherly Shove”, as it is referred to as in Philadelphia – is a direct, disproportional cause of injury relative to other legal plays in football.
However, as Goodell notes, there is also little data in general, implying there is no clear cut reasoning either way.
Presumably, this is a quantifiable data point, but without prior team cooperation; i.e. team’s reporting injuries after plays – as injuries are not always immediately noticeable to the public/viewers in their direct aftermath – it could take time to dissect the actual dangers of the play, and if there is validity to Goodell’s and numerous franchise’s concerns.
Are There Other Reasons Teams Are Looking To Ban The Play?
Many in and around the media, in addition to Eagles fans themselves, believe that there may be more nefarious reasons at play within the collective desire to ban the tush push.
Some have come out against the play on the grounds of the hypocrisy of its existence, given that the same plays is banned on special teams.
Yet there is a widespread belief that the actual reasoning behind the desire to ban the play stems from other teams’ inability to both stop it, and recreate it at an effectiveness level anywhere near the Eagles’.
Ultimately, franchises and owners vote in the interests of their team and the league as a whole. So if they feel like they will benefit from a tush push-less NFL, don’t be surprised to see them vote to pass the resolution next month.
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post NFL Commissioner Speaks Out On Eagles’ Tush Push After Tabled Vote appeared first on Heavy Sports.