Debate on Brotherly Shove Ban Tabled
Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts, #1, scores a touchdown on a tush push during Super Bowl LIX between the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs on Feb. 9, 2025 at the Superdome in New Orleans. (Andy Lewis/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
A ban on the Brotherly Shove has been tabled for further discussion at the 2025 NFL Annual Meeting, according to multiple reports.
NFL Insiders began reporting that the proposal, put forward by the Green Bay Packers, was tabled according to league sources early this morning. Tabling the proposal allows for the team and the league’s owners to revisit the proposal at a later date.
Initial speculation following the move suggests that the discussion is tabled until the league’s spring meeting in May. The move is intended to buy more time to garner support among the league’s owners.
Eagles players, and even the official Eagles X (Formerly Twitter) account were quick to celebrate the move. “Hate us cause they ain’t us!” was quickly posted by Lane Johnson following the reports.
Former Eagles Offensive Coordinator Shane Steichen, now head coach of the Indianapolis Colts, told Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer that he thought the play should remain.
“Yeah, I think it should stay in football. That’s just my opinion,” Steichen told McLane.
Steichen explained a bit of the development of the play, too.
“I think they got the offensive line to do it, and I think they got the quarterback to do it,” Steichen shared. “And I remember when we were there my first year, we put it in, and then obviously we started going, ‘Hey, let’s do this, and let’s do that.’ Next thing you know we’re like, ‘Hey, let’s put two pushers back there.’ And that just became the play. And it was like, well, ‘Let’s do stuff off it,’ but it was like, ‘Well, we don’t need to get too creative with it,’ like ‘We need one yard, and we’re really good at this, and let’s just keep doing it until they stop it.'”
Other rules changes were passed during the day on Tuesday, including changes to overtime rules, a proposal impacting how teams and free agents can interact, as well as a proposal adjusting how kicking balls are prepared.
