The NFL has banned the swivel hip drop tackle in a controversial move brought into effect because of number of injuries it apparently causes, with a play by a former San Francisco 49ers defender used as an example as the league explained what it is looking to take out of the game.

NFL players have been quick to voice their disapproval after the league passed the rule change on Monday. A swivel hip drop tackle occurs when a player:

• Grabs a runner with both hands/arms while attempting to make a tackle
• “Unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body”
• Lands on and traps the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee

Here’s the video the NFL just showed in a press conference of what are now banned swivel hip-drop tackles (with NFL executive Jeff Miller speaking in the background). pic.twitter.com/Y4H8h6pQkW

— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 25, 2024

Any such tackle will now result in a foul and a 15-yard penalty.

49ers defensive tackle Javon Hargrave was among those to express frustration in reacting to news, and a prominent play made in a Niners playoff game featured heavily in the NFL's press conference about the change.

Former 49ers defensive back Jimmie Ward's tackle on Dallas Cowboys running back Tony Pollard in the divisional round of the playoffs after the 2022 season was very prominent in the explainer.

Ward dragged Pollard down in a tackle identified by the league as a hip drop tackle. To emphasize their point about the injury risk, Pollard suffered a broken leg and high ankle sprain on the play.

Now with the Houston Texans, Ward would likely make the point that he was only trying to do all he could for his team to stop Pollard making an explosive play.

Therein lies the difficulty with the ban. Teams will do all they can to try to educate their players and refine technique, but in the heat of battle, particularly in the playoffs, such coaching points are unlikely to be at the forefront of their minds.

Ward's days with the 49ers are done, but he and his many former teammates on the San Francisco defense are going to have more difficult jobs in 2024 and beyond because of the league's reaction to plays like his against the Cowboys, a response that seems set to cause more problems than it will solve.

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He doesn’t believe it’s appropriate.