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NFL reportedly considering banning below the waist blocks

The league will consider abolishing all blocks below the waist in 2013, according to a report by SI’s Peter King.

Jeff Hanisch-US PRESSWIRE

The NFL’s Competition Committee will consider banning all blocks below the waist in 2013, according to a report from Peter King of Sports Illustrated.

King added that the league, which has allowed blocking below the waist for 93 years (with certain restrictions), is considering the ban due to health concerns and safety issues.

It is likely that chop blocks will be eliminated and that downfield low blocks could be nixed as well, as the league has seen players seriously injured as a result of below-the-waist blocks.

Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing saw his 2012 season come to an end after New York Jets guard Matt Slauson took him out with a cut block and tore his anterior cruciate ligament in Week 5.

Kansas City Chiefs safety Eric Berry tore his ACL on a downfield low block by Buffalo Bills wide receiver Stevie Johnson and missed all but a few plays of the 2011 season.

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