NFL officials have responded to protests over a proposal to ban a version of the "hip-drop tackle," a technique the league says has resulted in an injury rate that is up to 25 times higher than on tackles when it is not employed.

"As gatekeepers of the game, this is something that we have to remove," said Troy Vincent, the NFL's executive vice president of football operations.

According to competition committee chairman Rich McKay, the proposed rule was written to address only a subset of the rugby tackling style that has spread around the NFL in recent years.

It calls for a 15-yard penalty if a defender grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms and unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner's leg[s] at or below the knee."