Packers submit revision for tush push proposal

MINNEAPOLIS -- Ahead of a vote that could ban the tush push, the Green Bay Packers submitted a revision of their rule proposal that would more broadly ban pushing or pulling the ball carrier anywhere on the field.

In the proposal's updated language, "offensive players cannot assist the runner except by individually blocking opponents for him." The Packers also eliminated "immediately at the snap," in the updated language.

NFL owners decided to table a vote on the Packers' initial proposal at the Palm Beach meetings in April with a plan to revisit and vote on the proposal during the Minneapolis meetings, which begin Tuesday and are scheduled to end Wednesday.

The tush push, a play popularized by the Super Bowl-winning Eagles in which a team lines up one or more players behind the quarterback to push him forward against the defense, appeared in only 0.28% of total plays last year, according to ESPN Research, but the Eagles and Bills ran the play more often than any other teams. The two combined to run 163 tush pushes in the past three seasons, more than the rest of the NFL combined, according to ESPN Research. Not only did the Eagles and Bills run the play the most often, they also were the most successful. They scored a touchdown or achieved a first down on 87% of their tush push attempts, according to ESPN Research, while the rest of the league was successful on 71%.

Though the initial language seemingly targeted the Bills and Eagles by specifically seeking to eliminate pushing immediately at the snap, the revised proposal is broader in an effort to entice more teams to vote for the ban. The revised proposal would return the league to the rule it followed until 2005.

To pass the Packers' proposal and ban the tush push -- and any other pushing or pulling play -- the league must receive approval from 24 of 32 owners. Sources told ESPN's Kalyn Kahler that teams were split on the proposal in April, with 16 in favor of Green Bay's proposal and 16 against it.

League owners are expected to vote on the proposal in the coming days, in addition to other proposed rules including a change to the playoff seeding format, the onside kick and one that would allow NFL players to participate in Olympic flag football in 2028.