Bears LB TJ Edwards punished for uncalled illegal hip-drop tackle on Joe Mixon

The NFL has fined Chicago Bears linebacker TJ Edwards $16,883 for an illegal hip-drop tackle that injured Texans running back Joe Mixon on Sunday night. The news was relayed on Saturday afternoon by Aaron Wilson of KPRC2.

Mixon suffered an ankle injury when he was brought down by T.J. Edwards of the Bears. At the time, many believed that Edwards used an illegal hip-drop tackle to bring him down, but the officiating crew did not call a penalty.

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Prior to the injury, Mixon rushed for 20 yards on seven carries, while also catching three passes for 25 yards. He was looking to follow up an impressive debut with the Texans with another great performance, and his anger was obvious in the hours after, as he took to social media to wonder why the referees didn’t step in.

Joe Mixon shared his thoughts on social media

“The NFL and NFLPA made it a rule and an emphasis for a reason,” Mixon posted on X, regarding the tackle that put a damper on his night. “Time to put your money where your mouth is.”

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That’s a pretty straightforward assertion from Mixon. While we haven’t seen many flags called during the game pertaining to the freshly-minted illegal hip-drop tackle, multiple players were fined following Week 1 for deploying it, and if Mixon is correct, Edwards will be getting hit with a check owed to the league.

Unfortunately, it won’t help Mixon recover any quicker, and it won’t give him back the snaps he missed on Sunday night. Even if many fans and defensive players don’t agree with making the hip-drop tackle illegal, by the letter of the law, Edwards was in the wrong, and Mixon has a point.

“Those are some of the plays that the league is trying to take a very close look at in terms of a bunch of different indicators that would lead to what is known as a hip-drop tackle that the league is trying to get out of the game,” NBC commentator Mike Tirico noted at the time, regarding how the league is trying to crack down on these type of plays.

Hopefully the running back will be back at full strength in no time, Mixon joined the Texans during the offseason via trade with the Cincinnati Bengals, and he’s since become a major piece of the present and future.

After the trade, the former Oklahoma Sooners star signed a three-year $27 million contract extension through the 2026 season. In his debut with Houston, Mixon rushed for 159 yards and one touchdown to help the team defeat the Indianapolis Colts. 

On3’s Brian Jones and Steve Samra also contributed to this article.