Gerry Dulac: Ban the 'Tush Push?' Steelers want to hear it out.

PITTSBURGH — The Steelers are not sure where they stand — or should we say push — when it comes to the play that will be hotly debated when the NFL owners meetings begin Sunday at The Breakers resort in Palm Beach, Fla.

They are willing to listen before they decide if the "Tush Push" — the controversial short-yardage play popularized by the Philadelphia Eagles — should be shoved from the game.

The Green Bay Packers are among the teams that think the play should be eliminated — or, at the very least, penalized — which is why they are leading the charge with a proposal that is being put before the league's 32 owners for a vote.

Problem is, the proposed rule change would look as though it is targeted for just two teams (Eagles and Buffalo Bills) and not the league as a whole.

"The thing nobody likes about this discussion is the idea it's directed at two teams," said Rich McKay, co-chairman of the league's competition committee, the other day on a conference call. "I don't think anybody likes the idea there are teams associated with this rule proposal."

The summary of the Packers' proposal reads, "... amends Rule 12, Section 1, to prohibit an offensive player from pushing a teammate who was lined up directly behind the snapper and receives the snap, immediately at the snap."

If the Packers' proposal passes, Rule 12, Section 1 would be amended to say, "No offensive player may ... immediately at the snap, push or throw his body against a teammate, who was lined up directly behind the snapper and received the snap, to aid him in an attempt to gain yardage."

If it passes, pushing the quarterback forward on a sneak would become a 10-yard penalty.

The Bills, who use the play with quarterback Josh Allen, said the play can lead to injuries, not just with the quarterback but with lineman who are submarining at the snap. However, Troy Vincent, the league's executive vice president of football operations, said no injuries associated with the play were reported in 2024.

"I just feel like player safety — and the health and safety of our players — has to be at the top of our game, which it is," Bills coach Sean McDermott said at the NFL combine last month. "The way that the techniques that are used with that play, to me, have been potentially contrary to the health and safety of the players."

For the rule change to pass, it would need 24 "yes" votes from the 32 owners. That may not be an easy task.

The Steelers, for one, want to hear more about the proposed ban before deciding how they will vote.

While the "Tush Push" will garner most of the attention, there are other proposals before the owners that will generate a lot of discussion. That includes a proposal from the Detroit Lions in which conference playoff seeding would be determined by the records of the participants, allowing wild-card teams to be seeded higher than division winners.

That was brought in to focus last year when the Minnesota Vikings, who finished in second place in the NFC North with a 14-3 record, were the No. 5 seed in the NFC, behind division winners Los Angeles Rams (10-7) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (10-7).

The Steelers are against that proposal and believe the current format should remain intact.

What's more, the owners will be presented a proposal from the league's competition committee to make permanent the kickoff rule that was enacted in 2024. However, there will be two tweaks:

— The receiving team will get the ball on the 35-yard line instead of the 30, a move designed to encourage more kicks that result in returns. "It's motivation to keep the ball in play," McKay said.

— Teams who are behind can declare they want to try an onside kick at any point instead of having to wait to the fourth quarter.

The competition committee is also concerned about unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and what was termed a "significant" increase in taunting and "violent gestures" by the players.

"It's not where we want to be professionally," Vincent said. "Seeing some of the things ... we want to make sure the game is always about sportsmanship. We all agree — the players association, coaches — we want to make sure everyone is respecting one another."

Curiously, the Steelers have proposed a rule change that would allow teams to have direct contact with free agents during the two-day legal tampering period before the start of the new league year. Currently, teams can only have contact with the player's agent during the two-day window.

The Steelers are proposing that each team have one video or phone call with a free agent during that time that would allow them to schedule travel arrangements for the player of they come to terms on a deal.

Among the other intriguing proposals:

— Detroit is also proposing to eliminate offenses from getting an automatic first down if the defense commits an illegal contact or holding penalty. Not surprisingly, the Lions were called for 11 defensive holding penalties in 2024, roughly double the league average, according to NFLPenalties.com.

— Also, the Eagles want the league to use playoff overtime rules — each team gets at least one possession — in the regular season, as well. Currently, the regular season overtime period is only 10 minutes long and the team that gets the ball first can win the game if it scores a touchdown.