NFL Players Back Eagles 'Tush Push' in Poll Amid Calls For Rule Change to Ban Play

NFL players may be more broadly in support of keeping the tush push than team owners.

In a recent survey by The Athletic of 80 players, 67 respondents (83.8 percent) voted against banning the tush push.

Just 13 players surveyed (16.3 percent) supported banning the play, according to The Athletic.

One defensive player from a team that hasn't been running the tush push told The Athletic: "It's just a part of the game. S--t, we should start using it, too."

A proposal to ban the tush push received support from 22 team owners before falling just two votes short of passing at last May's league meeting, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

The Philadelphia Eagles, who popularized the play, were one of the 10 teams who didn't vote for the ban.

The Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Jacksonville Jaguars, Miami Dolphins, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Jets and Tennessee Titans also held out of the vote, per Schefter.

The ban was initially proposed by the Green Bay Packers, who proposed instituting a rule saying that "offensive players cannot assist the runner except by individually blocking opponents for him," per ESPN's Brooke Pryor.

Despite having needed just two more teams on board to approve the ban, Schefter reported in December there was no certainty the play would be brought up for a vote ahead of the 2026 season.

"One source told ESPN that, after the hotly contested conversation the play raised last offseason and the emotions it aroused, he believes the issue needs to be tabled for a year before it could be raised again," Schefter wrote last fall.

There is a chance usage of the tush push could decrease in 2026 as offensive line adjustments make the play less effective than when it was first popularized by the Eagles.

As of Week 14, the Eagles had converted on just 66.7 percent of tush push attempts, a steep increase from their 81 percent success rate in 2024, per Gabriela Carroll of the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Former Packers president and CEO Mark Murphy, who submitted last year's proposal to ban the tush push, has since retired, per Schefter.

NFL players will have to wait and see whether last year's vote, potentially alongside the Eagles' regular-season struggles and elimination from the Wild Card round, impacts whether someone else proposes a new ban this spring.