Ravens TE Mark Andrews all for NFL’s ban on hip-drop tackles after injury last season

Mark Andrews was out for almost two months last season after a hip-drop tackle forced him into ankle surgery

Considering it knocked him out for several months last season, Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews is all for the NFL’s move to ban the hip-drop tackle from the game.

The hip-drop tackle was officially removed from the game at an owners meeting earlier this spring. Violations will now be hit with a 15-yard penalty if it’s called during a game this upcoming season. That, Andrews said Tuesday in Maryland after an offseason practice, is something he’s behind.

“I’m always an advocate for making the game safer,” Andrews said, via ESPN’s Jamison Hensley. “You look at the last five years, there’s been a lot of big injuries with that. So just bringing the awareness to that type of tackle, I think is good.”

Andrews was brought down with such a tackle in their win over the Cincinnati Bengals last fall. Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson was not penalized for the tackle that led to Andrews needing surgery, but he faced plenty of criticism from those in and around the league for what many thought was a dirty play.

Though it didn’t look like there was much else he could have done in the moment to avoid it given the situation, Wilson’s tackle was the textbook definition of a hip-drop tackle.