NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell says he believes owners will reach consensus on tush push

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell believes owners will come to a consensus in May on whether rule changes will be needed to eliminate the tush push play that’s helped the Philadelphia Eagles win one Super Bowl and reach another.

A proposal by the Green Bay Packers to eliminate the play was tabled at the league meetings this month but will be brought back up for a vote when the owners meet again in May.

Some proponents of eliminating the play point to player safety even though there’s no evidence of an increased injury risk, as well as the fact that the NFL prohibited pushing a ball carrier until a rule change that was put in place in 2005.

The original proposal by the Packers would have only banned pushing a player who was lined up directly behind the snapper and receives the snap, immediately at the snap. There also has been discussion about banning pushing a ball carrier at any spot on the field.

“A lot of coaches would tell you that’s not part of football, right. It may be rugby but it’s not us,” Goodell said Friday on “The Pat McAfee Show” at the NFL draft in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

“The second thing is really the safety of the game. And that’s of primary importance to us. Is it a play that’s unsafe when you’re in those positions where you’re getting pushed or pulled and you can’t control where you’re going. Those are the two factors. On the other side, there’s a legitimate argument that everyone can do it, and you know, if somebody does it better than the others, that’s the way the game is played.”

It takes 24 of 32 votes to approve rule changes and neither side of the argument had clear support at the league meetings earlier this month.

“There were different concepts that were discussed. I would say there was a split,” Goodell said on McAfee’s show. “There wasn’t an overwhelming push either way, but I think as people see the different things the committee has been considering and hear the conversation, I think that they’ll actually develop a consensus.”

Goodell touched on several other topics in the interview: