New England Patriots Jabrill Peppers Slams New Hip-Drop Tackle Rule

New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers voiced his displeasure with the NFL’s decision to ban the hip-drop tackle this season.

Nov 5, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers (5) / Paul Rutherford-USA TODAY Sports

FOXBORO — Count New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers among those who are unhappy with a recent NFL rule change. 

During last month’s annual meetings, the league instituted several adaptations to its rules for the upcoming season, including the prohibition of the polarizing hip-drop tackle — which the NFL deems responsible for “lower extremity injuries at a rate of 20 times higher than other types of tackles.” 

Peppers, known for his physical style of play, clearly took umbrage with the league’s actions. In fact, he was vocal about his feelings on outlawing the tackle when speaking with New England reporters on Tuesday. 

"I don't like it. I don't know how they officiate it... I just have a lot of questions about it,” Peppers said from the Gillette Stadium dais. “What are they looking for? What draws the flag? Because if this is going to be like how it is when we hit a guy really hard — you know, the optics of it and you flag it — rather than some sort of protocol that they have to throw the flag? We don’t know.”

Dec 17, 2023; Foxborough, Massachusetts, USA; New England Patriots safety Jabrill Peppers (5) / Eric Canha-USA TODAY Sports

Per NFL regulations, the hip-drop tackle “occurs when a defender wraps up a ball carrier and rotates or swivels his hips, unweighting himself and dropping onto the ball carrier’s legs during the tackle.”

Effective immediately, the action is punishable by a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down.

For the Patriots, the rule change is somewhat relatable. Feature running back Rhamondre Stevenson suffered a high-ankle sprain from a hip-drop tackle while attempting to secure a first down in the first quarter of their Week 13 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Still, several Patriots defenders, as well as offensive line captain David Andrews, supported maintaining the tackling technique moving forward. Despite the pleas of the NFLPA to keep the play legal, the owners chose to institute its ban. 

At safety, both Peppers and Kyle Dugger formed one of the top defensive backfield tandems in the NFL, routinely leading the team in snaps taken on defense. Peppers put up Pro Bowl-worthy numbers, finishing the year with 78 total tackles, eight passes-defensed, one sack and one interception, as well as a forced fumble and a recovery. Having played in 15 of 17 games for the Patriots last season — his most productive season as a Patriot — Peppers realizes that there will be a “trial by fire” period of adjustment as defenders learn to satisfy the new league rules.

“You’ve just gotta adapt,” Peppers said. “As a defender, I’ve never had to worry about the health of the guy I’m tackling. Obviously, you don’t wanna lead with the crown of your helmet, but typically, if you hit somebody in the strike zone … however, you get him down is how you get him down. 

“Like with anything, we’ll have to adjust,” Peppers continued. “You don’t want to hurt the team by getting 15-yard penalties. I don’t think, personally, I’ve had any tackles that are hip-drop tackles. I’m more of a kind of wrap-and-roll type of guy. But in certain situations, you’ve gotta get the guy on the ground … as long as you do it legally, no grabbing him by the horse collar or the face mask.”

Despite his unhappiness at the change having passed from proposal to policy, Peppers is confident in the prowess of the Pats’ coaching staff to put its players in the best situation to play fundamentally sound football, while adhering to the rules on the field. 

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out in preseason, but for now this is just another obstacle for us,” Peppers conceded. “The defensive guys will adapt. I’m just curious when we’re going to start getting some rule changes in our favor.”