Sean Payton did not mince words when asked to weigh in on the controversial tush push play.
The NFL announced Sunday that no team proposed a ban on the tush push this offseason — a stark contrast from last year, when the Philadelphia Eagles were fresh off their Super Bowl run.
Payton defended the tush push last year and stood up for it again when he spoke to reporters Tuesday at the NFL combine. The Denver Broncos coach stated that the ban was “not a health and safety thing,” but rather purely for aesthetic reasons.
“We discussed that last year for two hours, and we just adopted 1,000 kick returns (with the new kickoff rule). Which play do you think is more of a health risk?” Payton asked the room full of reporters.
“I think if we choose to ever move on from that, it won’t be because of health and safety, it’ll just be like, we don’t like it.”
Payton was referring to the new kickoff rule the NFL instituted in 2024, which drastically raised the number of kickoff returns over the last two seasons.
While a few players have gotten injured while running the tush push, it’s indeed far less dangerous than a kickoff return, where players run toward each other at full speed. In contrast, Payton last year called the tush push the “safest play in football.”
