NFL proposes ban on hip-drop tackles, change to kickoffs

The NFL competition committee is proposing a rule to penalize so-called “hip-drop” tackles and a radical change to kickoffs to add more returns without compromising safety.

The proposals will be presented to owners at the league meetings later this month, with 24 out of 32 votes needed for approval.

The committee didn’t propose any rule changes to limit the use of the “tush push” quarterback sneak that has been so successful for the Philadelphia Eagles the past few seasons, or any change to the rule giving the defensive team a touchback if the team with the ball fumbles through the end zone.

The league has spent the past several seasons making kickoff returns less common in hopes of reducing injuries. Last season, returns were attempted on less than 22 percent of all kickoffs, according to Sportradar, down from 80 percent as recently as 2010.

The new rule proposal takes elements of the kickoff rules used in spring leagues like the XFL.

For a standard kickoff, the ball would be kicked from the 35-yard line with the 10 kick coverage players lined up at the opposing 40, with five on each side of the field.

The return team would have at least nine blockers lined up in the “set up zone” between the 30- and 35-yard line with at least seven of those players touching the 35. There would be up two returners allowed inside the 20.

Only the kicker and two returners would be allowed to move until the ball hits the ground or was touched by a returner inside the 20.

Any kick that reaches the end zone in the air can be returned, or the receiving team can opt for a touchback and possession at the 35. Any kick that reaches the end zone in the air and goes out of bounds or out of the end zone also would result in a touchback at the 35.

If a ball hits a returner or the ground before the end zone and goes into the end zone, a touchback would be at the 20 or the play could be returned. Any kick received in the field of play would have be returned.

Under current rules, any touchback — or if a returner calls for a fair catch in the field of play — results in the receiving team getting the ball at its own 25.

The committee also proposed a 15-yard personal foul for hip-drop tackles, which it defined as any time a defender grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms, and then swivels or drops his hips or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg below the knees.

League executive Jeff Miller has said the hip-drop tackle increases risk of injury by 25 times the rate of a standard tackle. The committee views those tackles as being similar to horse collar tackles that were banned before the 2005 season.

The NFLPA is against the rule change, believing it can’t be fairly enforced.

LIONS: Detroit Lions defensive back Cameron Sutton is wanted on a domestic violence warrant in Florida, where authorities on Wednesday asked for tips to help find him.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, which includes Tampa, said on the X social media platform that the warrant is for domestic battery by strangulation, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Sutton may be driving a Jeep Grand Wagoneer with a Florida license plate, the sheriff’s office said.

The department responded to a call about domestic violence in progress involving Sutton, 29, and a female around 5 a.m. March 7, said Phil Martello, a spokesperson for the sheriff’s office, according to a Detroit Free Press report.

Authorities issued the warrant based on the evidence they found and suspect that Sutton has fled Tampa, Martello told the newspaper. Attempts to contact and call him have been unsuccessful, he said.

“Our detectives have exhausted everything to try and get ahold of him,” Martello said.

It wasn’t clear if Sutton has a lawyer to speak for him. A text message and email sent to Sutton’s agent, David Canter, were not immediately returned. A voicemail message was also left on a cellphone that authorities said belonged to Sutton.

The Lions signed Sutton to a $33 million, three-year contract a little more than a year ago, targeting him as a key player to acquire last offseason. He helped the franchise win a division title for the first time in three decades along with two playoff games in one postseason for the first time since 1957.

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