Patrick Mahomes, Tony Pollard’s ankle injury caught NFL attention

The league’s current view is that Jacksonville Jaguars linebacker Arden Key and San Francisco 49ers defensive back Jimmy Ward are unlikely to be disciplined by the league for their playing roles, but last weekend’s No final decision has been made on match fines. Clear by Wednesday.

Pollard left the Cowboys’ season-ending loss to the 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif. on Sunday and underwent surgery Tuesday to repair ligaments in his ankle. He suffered a high ankle sprain when trapped underneath. suffered a fibula fracture playing.

Mahomes sprained his ankle high in a tackle on Keys during the Chiefs’ victory over the Jaguars in Kansas City on Saturday. Mahomes returned to the field to start the second half and end the game.he on Wednesday he said he was going to play They will face the visiting Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday.

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Representatives from the league and competition committees meet annually during the offseason to discuss potential rule changes, with a focus on player safety measures, and to review the previous season’s play. Their plan to review Ward’s tackle on Pollard doesn’t necessarily mean that a rule change will be proposed. But it shows at least some of Ward’s concern with the technology he used.

In Australia, the National Rugby League has banned tackles similar to those that beat Mahomes and Pollard. Starting in 2020, the NRL has penalized him for what it calls a “hip drop” tackle, including a multi-game suspension.

An NRL official said the Sydney-based NRL “confirmed an increase in the incidence of this type of tackle, some of which resulted in broken ankles, torn ACLs and numerous ankle sprains. And so on, causing serious injuries to attacking players.”

The NFL has made rule changes and modifications in response to high-profile injuries in the past. To this was added the standard of roughing the passer in 2009, after low-hitting stars sidelined his quarterbacks Tom Brady and Carson Palmer. Perhaps most relevant to consideration of Pollard’s post-injury changes is after several injuries on such plays, including the Philadelphia Eagles’ wide-sprained ankle and fractured right fibula. , the league enacted in 2005 to ban collar tackles. Receiver Terrell Owens when pulled down from behind by Cowboys safety Roy Williams.

Like horse collar tackles, hip drop tackles tend to be done from behind or at an angle and can put the ball carrier at greater risk of serious lower body injury.

In a video published last year by the NRL to clarify what is considered illegal hip drop tackle, the league pointed to three “key indicators”.

• A defender grabs the opponent’s ball carrier and uses it to “lift or maintain weight, then drop or swing”. The move is notable for its “unnatural” look in the context of sports.
• The defender then rotates his hips away from the ball carrier and falls on the ball carrier’s body, usually his lower leg, bringing the ball carrier to a sudden stop.
• A defender puts his entire weight on the affected area of ​​the ball carrier, resulting in “trapping the lower leg in a dangerous position”.

“While we did not believe that a player was intentionally trying to harm another player with this type of tackle, NRL General Manager of Competition and Operations Nathan McGurk wrote in an email this week: “It was clear that the player was acting in a careless manner, violating his duty of care to his opponent’s player.”

“It’s important to note, however, that we’re not saying that everything a defender makes contact with a player’s lower leg is illegal,” the NRL official added. “The emphasis was on techniques where the defender attacking his player’s legs/ankles by dropping weight off the hips, legs or buttocks.”

Similar to the NFL’s rule against trolling passers, some in the NRL have criticized what is seen as an inconsistent application of the ban on hip drops by game or league officials. Although the ban on drop tackle was not immediately accepted, he has the impression that “the public sentiment towards these styles of tackle has definitely changed and is now accepted at a certain level”.

Another NFL injury similar to the one suffered by Mahomes and Pollard occurred in December, when 49ers wide receiver Deebo Samuel twisted left leg He was knocked down from behind by Rakeem Nunez Roches of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.The 2021 Pro Bowl pick missed three games with knee and ankle injuries.

Pollard’s injury could cost a fourth-year player who is set to hit free agency unless the Cowboys use the franchise tag on him. Pollard, who gained 1,378 yards from expected to recover Before NFL teams start training camp this summer.