The new rule against the hip-drop tackle has resulted in a fine for Bears defensive lineman Chris Williams.
The NFL fined Williams $5,472 for a hip-drop tackle in last week’s win over the Jaguars.
On the play in question, Williams sacked Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence from behind and landed on his legs, which can lead to lower-body injuries that the NFL is trying to prevent. But Williams wasn’t flagged, the NFL Network announcers didn’t say anything about it, and virtually no one watching live seemed to think it was a hip-drop tackle.
And that’s a problem: Although the NFL is disciplining players for hip-drop tackles, hardly anyone seems to know what, exactly, constitutes a hip-drop tackle. That’s why the NFL Players Association opposed the rule against hip-drop tackles, as the players’ union didn’t think the rule had been defined well enough to be enforced consistently.
Williams will have an opportunity to appeal the fine, and he may succeed.
