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The NFL says one of their main goals is player safety. Following the injury to Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews that will be put to the test.
Pro Football Talk’s Peter King, “expect[s] the NFL to move aggressively to erase the hip-drop tackle this off-season.”
This is the reaction to Andrews suffering a cracked fibula and an ankle ligament injury in the Ravens’ 34-20 Week 11 win over the Cincinnati Bengals. Andrews was taken down by Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson with a “hip-drop” tackle.
According to King, the NFL has been working with the National Rugby League how to exactly define what a “hip-drop” tackle consists of.
“The NRL identified three parts of the tackle—grab the ballcarrier, rotate the ballcarrier, and land with the body weight on the leg or ankle. All must be present to qualify as a hip-drop tackle,” according to King.
Andrews was taken down from behind by Wilson during the 1st-quarter, and the linebacker proceeded to roll onto the back of the star tight ends legs, catching them under his body.
King stated, “I don’t think he did intentionally landed on Andrews’ leg. It all happened so fast.”
The Ravens tight end needed immediate assistance as he was writhing in pain.
After the game it was believed that it might be season ending, but head coach John Harbaugh has been trying to be optimistic.
Ravens Linebacker Patrick Queen Disagrees With Rule Change
Not all players though, mostly defensive, think the tackle needs to be removed from the game. King spoke with Andrews’ teammate linebacker Patrick Queen following the injury.
Queen told King, “We play a tackling sport.” Defense is hard enough in today’s NFL where more and more types of hits are being legislated out of the game.
The linebacker followed that up with, “I don’t think a hip-drop tackle is that bad of a thing. How else do you want us to tackle? Just let the guy run past you?” Players have adjusted to this type of tackle as they are highly discouraged from going high on offensive players.
Furthermore, King states, “The league has found it to occur approximately once per game, so maybe 300 times a season.”
Another concern King raises has to do with being a dirty play or “intent.”
“I don’t think defensive players, from the examples I’ve seen, have the time to calculate how to twist the player around and land full body weight on the leg or legs of a ballcarrier.”
The game moves at lightning speed and players have to make split-second decisions on how to bring down an opposing player. King believes it would be almost impossible for them in that split-second to decide they want to try and take a player out.
Ravens Try Out Former First Round Tight End
Despite Harbaugh’s optimism, NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo tweeted on Tuesday, November 21 that, “#Ravens TE Mark Andrews will undergo surgery on his ankle today-Andrews is likely out for the year, though as John Harbaugh said, there’s a chance he could return if Baltimore makes a deep playoff run.”
The Ravens were preparing for this, even with the slight chance he returns, by hosting a variety of tight ends since their Week 11 Thursday Night Football matchup.
According to NFL Insider Tom Pelissero, “With Mark Andrews out indefinitely, the #Ravens worked out a group of tight ends, including onetime first-round pick O.J. Howard.”
Howard was drafted by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the first round during the 2017 NFL Draft. Standing at 6 foot 6, the hope was that he was in the same mold of Rob Gronkowski and would be an elite offensive weapon.
Unfortunately, Howard was never able to live up to that comparison and was a disappointment in terms of first-round draft picks.
He last played for the Houston Texans during the 2022 season, only putting up 10 catches and 2 touchdowns.
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