The 2025 NFL Draft is in the books and just about every big free agent splash has put pen to paper (ahem, Aaron Rodgers), so the only thing left to do for fans is wait for training camp to begin at the end of the summer. Or is it?
The NFL is considering multiple rule changes, from altering certain penalties to eliminating an entire play from the playbook. Yes, we're talking about the infamous 'Tush Push.'
Made a household name by the Philadelphia Eagles, the 'tush push' entails of a player (typically the quarterback) lining up in a QB sneak formation but with skill position players like the running back and wide receivers set up behind him so that when the ball is snapped, they can push him into endzone or across the line to gain. As fans of other teams know all too well, the play is near impossible to defend.
Because of how unstoppable the play has effectively become (particularly for the Eagles who have mastered it) team owners will determine if it should be illegal. The Green Bay Packers proposed the ban in March.
Saquon Barkley has a message for all the 'tush push' haters out there
Despite having a significant portion of his potential rushing scores sniped by QB Jalen Hurts because of the 'tush push,' Eagles RB Saquon Barkley is out here defending the play and puffing out his chest about it at the same time.
"If you don't like it, get better at stopping it," Barkley said (h/t SportsCenter). "It's not like a play that, you know, we only could do. Everybody does it, everyone tries it, we're just super successful at it. [The Eagles] were super successful at it before I was there."
And in a veiled shot at his former team, the New York Giants, Barkley elaborated on how the 'tush push' has a greater effect on games as a whole, specifically for player morale on the other side of the ball.
"I know what does to a team, how it breaks down a team, and now being on a team, you're lining up and everyone knows what you're doing it's like, 'Stop me,' and they can't so they're going to get in their feels about it, gonna try to make changes but I don't see that happening and if it doesn't, just get better at stopping it," he continued.
The NFL's Competition Committee was reportedly split on how to handle the play's legality entering next season and tabled the matter until the next owners' meeting later in May. Fans will have to wait until then to find out if Philadelphia gets to continue it's dominance on the line of scrimmage or figure out a new formula.