ORLANDO, Fl — Owners and upper management are all in attendance this week for the annual meetings in Florida.
Ravens head coach John Harbaugh spoke with media Monday addressing some new rule implications.
One of those rules up for discussion is the hip-drop tackle.
According to multiple reports, owners voted to ban the hip-drop tackle, which was against the objections of the NFLPA.
Before the vote was passed, Harbaugh agreed that it should be prohibited.
"I think taking the hip drop [tackle] out of the game is the right thing to do," said coach Harbaugh. "I think [NFL commissioner] Roger Goodell and [NFL executive vice president of football operations] Troy [Vincent] are on the right path with that. The competition committee is on the right path with that. It’d be good if it does pass in my opinion.”
During the Ravens' primetime game against the Cincinnati Bengals, All-Pro tight end Mark Andrews was injured as a result of a hip-drop tackle.
Many players, current and past, were upset with the rule on social media.
Another rule up for vote was the new kickoff proposal.
Under the new rule, if the ball were to go in the end zone on the fly, the receiving team would get a touchback at the 30, which would be a disadvantage for the kicking team.
The rule would be put in place to incentivize kickers to kick a returnable ball.
A rule that excites coach Harbaugh.
"I just think Roger Goodell is doing a great job of trying to bring the kickoff return back into the game [and] make it exciting for the fans. The fans like excitement, right? So, you want a play that’s more than a ceremonial play, and it’s been a ceremonial play really for the last number of years. So, a way to bring it back and bring it back safely, that’s what I’m for. How we go about doing that; that’s the conversation. It’s not easy, but we’ll come to something really good,” said Harbaugh.
Another topic of discussion, rebuilding the offensive line.
So far this offseason the Ravens lost three starters on the line, two through free agency, one through trade.
John Simpson signed a contract with the New York Jets and Kevin Zeitler signed with the Detroit Lions.
Tackle Morgan Moses was traded to the New York Jets, a trade Harbaugh attributes to the team's strained cap situation.
RELATED: Keeping track of the Ravens' offseason
"[Morgan Moses] is a heck of a player, everybody loves him, he works hard, he’s productive, played through injuries last year and was on a team-friendly contract. But in the big picture, when you kind of step back and you look at the whole cap structure, it was tight, and that was an opportunity, I think, where unfortunately, trade, pick up the cap space, create some cushion a little bit – a little bit of a buffer that we needed ... And we have a young player there that has a chance to kind of step forward and play well, so that was a tough decision,” Harbaugh said.
The Ravens still have Ronnie Stanley and Tyler Linderbaum, they signed former Texans tackle Josh Jones and will have Andrew Vorhees coming back from injury.
Harbaugh said Patrick Ricard will remain at fullback and Daniel Faalele will stay at tackle.
The draft is just a couple weeks away and the Ravens are looking to maximize all nine of their picks.
