Spencer Rattler takes QB reps with starters in Thursday's OTA workout

John DeShazier

The effort to ban the Tush Push was shoved aside Wednesday, when NFL owners fell short of the necessary 24 votes needed to eliminate the play.

That means New Orleans Saints Coach Kellen Moore, after dialing up the play with great success last season when he served as offensive coordinator with the Eagles who went on to win Super Bowl LIX will have it at his disposal if he chooses to install it with New Orleans as a first-year coach.

Moore said at the NFL owners' meetings in Palm Beach, Fla., which were held from March 30-April 2, that he was a proponent of keeping the play, which some opponents labeled a health and safety risk.

"It's a play that obviously has drawn a lot of discussions," he said Thursday at the Ochsner Sports Performance Center, after the Saints completed Phase III of OTAs. "As you go through the process, I know there was an injury component that was emphasized and a speed of play both, (I) didn't feel like there was much data or proof to say that was justifiable as we went through that process and so, I feel good.

"I'm really happy that it didn't go through that process, especially the way they counter moved it, with the way the potential latest proposal was to eliminate all pushing from an offensive player perspective. Which created another whole can of worms that I don't think everyone quite realized, that that occurs in a lot more football plays than just that, and so we were drastically changing a number of plays in this.

"So, I feel great about it, I feel like it's a play that ultimately one team or a couple of teams that invested a ton of time into, put a lot of work into it and they've been able capitalize on it. But it's just like any other play it's available to everyone, and we'll see."

The play was popularized by the Philadelphia over the past three seasons; the Eagles converted 39 of 48 attempts last year, and totaled 27 touchdowns and 92 first downs over the three-year span.

Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts scored the Eagles' first touchdown in the Super Bowl using the play against Kansas City in what became a 40-22 victory in the Caesars Superdome.

The Eagles didn't use the play in a 15-12 win over the Saints in the Superdome last season; on two fourth-and-1 attempts, Philadelphia completed a pass and failed on a rushing attempt, respectively.

Wednesday's vote from the league's spring meeting in Eagan, Minn., came after the league tabled the vote at the meeting in Palm Beach. The proposal then had been submitted by Green Bay and totally was geared toward eliminating the Tush Push. The Packers revised the language to more broadly ban pushing or pulling a ballcarrier anywhere on the field.

Moore hasn't yet decided if New Orleans will implement the play.

"I've had great experience with it," he said. "It's an investment, it's a play that Philadelphia has done a great job of investing a lot of time into, spending a lot of time embracing that play and there's a skill component to it as well that we've got to evaluate."

INJURY UPDATE:Tight ends Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau will not be participating in the offseason program as each continues to rehab from knee injuries suffered last season.

Quarterback Jake Haener, tight end Dallin Holker and rookie defensive cornerback Quincy Riley also have been out with various injuries that Moore called "nagging things."

ROTATING QBs:Second-year quarterbackSpencer Rattlertook reps with the starting offense Thursday. Moore said quarterbacks have rotated taking reps with the starters Haener's injury will keep him out for a bit and that Rattler handled Thursday well.

"I think this time of year, always the process and the command is a really important aspect of this thing," Moore said. "We get some components of the physical exposure but his ability to command, call the plays in the huddle, understanding of what all 11 are responsible for, I think he's doing an excellent job.

"For the most part the quarterbacks have just been rotating. Just kind of by the day. I don't want them to get into where they're always looking who's in, who's out. Create a little bit of rhythm each day. Spence took the 1s today and we'll continue to rotate throughout the whole offseason."