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Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith was fortunate to have avoided serious injury when he was tackled by New York Giants linebacker Isaiah Simmons. The “hip drop tackle” was started in the field of play and carried out of bounds, which by current NFL rules does not merit a personal foul flag.
#Seahawks QB Geno Smith told @saltersl that the Isaiah Simmons tackle was a "dirty play" and there's "no place in this sport for that."
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) October 3, 2023
"I don't respect that type of stuff. You don't need to take shots at guys running out of bounds on the sidelines."pic.twitter.com/rhgMHTpT9a
Understandably, Smith wasn’t happy about the play and he missed a couple of series with that knee and ankle injury. And yet, because it was a legal hit and Smith later got an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty later in the game, he was the one who was fined while Simmons had no punishment.
NFL insider Ian Rapoport revealed on Tuesday that the league has studied this type of tackle and how it disproportionately causes injury compared to other tackles. And for that reason, the league is taking a closer look at the legality of the hip drop and whether this should be banned.
Interesting note from NFL EVP Jeff Miller, here at the league meetings in NYC: Hip drop tackles, like the kind that injured Geno Smith a few weeks ago, result in 25x the injuries of other tackles. Every week, a player is injured by one. NFL hopes to define it... and remove it.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 17, 2023
We’re in the middle of the season so no changes are coming until at least next offseason, when the competition committee gets involved. I’m sure Geno would love for this tackle to be turned into a penalty in 2024.
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