Julian Edelman refuses to hate on Eagles' Tush Push as fate of controversial play is up for discussion

Julian Edelman was joined by Rob Gronkowski as the former Patriots teammates weighed in on the continued efforts to ban the tush push play that the Eagles have used to devastating effect in the last few years. The play has been extremely successful, with teams struggling to find an answer to it, but nothing worked as Philadelphia went all the way and lifted the Lombardi Trophy last season.

It has changed the dynamics of the game, where fourth-and-short is not an automatic punt. Critics of the play, like the Bills and the Packers, have cited player safety concerns in trying to ban it. However, Julian Edelman believes that the rule change is merely a cover to disguise how defensive coordinators are struggling to come up with an appropriate response to it. He said,

"Should the tush push be banned? The Green Bay Packers have proposed to prohibit the tush push... I don't like, fundamentally, we're making a rule because people can't stop it."

Rob Gronkowski agreed and said that it should be left to the players and the coaches to figure it out, instead of depending on the administrators. Julian Edelman further concurred by saying that the Bills tried the play and were unsuccessful, which speaks to how well the Eagles execute it. Saying the onus on defenses, the former Patriots Super Bowl-winning receiver continued,

"If everyone could run it, then everyone would run it. But we saw the Buffalo Bills try to run it like 3 times in a row and got stuffed. It's part of execution, they (Eagles) know how to execute the play. I don't think they should can the play because only one team knows how to run it right. I think the defenses need to get better."

Julian Edelman seems content with another proposed rule change

With the league meeting in Minneapolis to discuss rule changes, Julian Edelman and Rob Gronkowski seemed more supportive of another proposed discussion point regarding allowing NFL players to participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. With the games being held in the USA and flag football being on the list for the first time, their Dudes on Dudes podcast was eager to know which players fans would like to see in the extravaganza.

While the tush push challenge is expected to be contentious, the vote to allow professional footballers to participate in the Olympics, although not certain, is expected to pass as per reports from NFL insider Adam Schefter.