Steelers' Kwon Alexander Blasts The NFL For Looming Rule Change

The Pittsburgh Steelers are known for their ferocious defenses, including the Steel Curtain back in the 1970s and the defenses of the late 2000s. The Steelers defense in the late 2000s included Ryan Clark and James Harrison, who each struck fear in their opponents, and the NFL eventually made major changes to the rules to improve player safety due to them. Since then, the NFL has constantly been trying to find ways to make the game safer. Current Steelers linebacker, Kwon Alexander, recently spoke his mind about a looming rule change the NFL hopes will benefit the ball carrier. 

There have been reports circulating about the NFL planning to ban "hip drop" tackles since they have seen an increase in injuries occurring on plays that include this type of take down on the ball carrier. This type of tackle is seen when a player with the ball is running down field and a defender catches him from behind and drops his body weight to the field, often landing on the back of the ball carrier's legs. 

A specific example of this kind of tackle resulting in an injury was in 2022 when Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard was tackled from behind and sprained his ankle, also fracturing his fibula in the playoffs against the San Francisco 49ers. In 2023, Seattle Seahawks quarterback Geno Smith was tackled this way against the New York Giants and had to come out of the game for a while and is still dealing with a lingering knee injury. 

Steelers' Alexander Blasts NFL

This potential rule change obviously benefits the offense and makes life for a defender in the NFL even harder. What used to seem like a routine tackle is now being criticized because of a handful of injuries. Alexander took to X to speak about how the new rule would be unfair to the defense.

"Bruh this ain't right man! They better not be tryna fine us for this s*** either! Making it hard for us on defense already!"

If the NFL decides to make this rule change, defenders don't have much of an option when it comes to chasing down a ball carrier from behind. Essentially, if the player with the ball gets by the defense, they have no option to chase them down and tackle them. There would be a significant increase in defensive penalties and fines would be given out every week to a multitude of defenders. 

Alexander is known for his physicality on the field and is a hard-hitter in the NFL, sometimes to his detriment. In the 2023 preseason in a game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Alexander laid an extremely physical hit on Buccaneers running back Chase Edmonds. The hit ended up getting Alexander a $43k fine from the league office. When the news of his fine broke, he once again spoke out about the NFL being too friendly to the offense. 

"You know how the league is nowadays. You can't even hit too hard right now. You barely can touch him."

Alexander sees a trend in the way the NFL is operating and how its player safety initiative is clearly in favor of the offense and completely limits what a defense can do in an attempt to stop the offense. This new rule would be an addition to a slew of changes made by the league to improve the safety of the game that actually just limits what a defensive player can do. 

The NFL changed the roughing the passer rule which now says a defender can't land on the quarterback when sacking him. Referees are quick to throw a flag when a defender hits a receiver to break up a pass due to the defenseless receiver rule. Essentially, defenders are already extremely limited when trying to stop the offense due to the many rules that they may break by trying to make a play. Now, the "hip drop" tackle might be banned. Alexander won't be the only defensive player in the NFL you hear speak out against this rule change. 

What do you think of the NFL's potential new rule? Let us know in the comments below!

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