Packers GM fires back at report that Green Bay proposed NFL to ban tush push

The Green Bay Packers raised a proposal to ban the “Tush Push” play, perfected by the Philadelphia Eagles, and their general manager Brian Gutekunst is shedding some light on their thought process.

While Gutekunst admitted the Packers haven’t been great at stopping the play when facing the Eagles, who they lost to in the NFC Wild Card Round, he cited injury rates as a reason for it to be banned, although he added that he hasn’t “put much thought into it.”

“We’re not very successful against it, I know that, but to be honest with you I haven’t put much thought into it,” Gutekunst said, per Pro Football Talk. “It’s been around for a while, we’ve used it in different fashions with our tight end, so again, I think there will be a lot of discussions about it.

“I’ve got to look at some of the information as far as injury rates, things like that, to see. But we’ll see.”

Continuing, Gutekunst made sure to point out the proposal hasn’t been discussed ad nauseam by Green Bay, but he’s ready to really sink his teeth into over the next few weeks.

“I’m aware of it, we really haven’t had many discussions about it. I’m sure we will over the next few weeks heading into the owners’ meetings,” the Packers general manager added. “I’m aware that we did but we really haven’t had many discussions about it.”

All told, the Packers may be the team who submitted the proposal, but the play has come under scrutiny in recent months from many areas around the game, perhaps highlighted by a bit of a fiasco in the NFC Championship Game.

Following that, FOX Sports rules expert Mike Pereira suggested there was growing momentum to ban the play in the game.

“I think it will be a conversation. I think what happened in the championship game was ugly,” Pereira said, according to the Washington Post’s Mark Maske. “I think with the ugliness of that, they’ll take a further look at it. … I think it’ll continue being looked at, and maybe somewhere down the road making a change.”

Alas, it remains to be seen if there’s enough momentum to actually ban the play, but the Philadelphia Eagles at least got a Super Bowl out of it, if it does in fact become disallowed. It wasn’t the only reason why they won, but it’s a heck of a trick to have in your back pocket, and they utilized it well throughout the entire 2024 season.