Seattle Seahawks fans can rejoice in knowing that ‘The Barnyard’ is likely to remain in the fold going forward.
According to ESPN’s Mike Reiss and Kevin Seifert, there are currently no known plans to ban the tush push for the 2026 season. Rich McKay, co-chairman for the NFL’s competition committee, says that conversations to eliminate one of the most effective short-yardage plays have quieted down for the time being, a marked pivot from the frequent talks to get rid of the tush push a year ago.
“There’s no team proposal that I’ve seen from it,” McKay said following a day of meetings at the NFL combine (via ESPN). “So, I wouldn’t envision it. But you never know.”
Last February, the Green Bay Packers led an effort to ban the play entirely, likely spurred by their wild-card playoff exit against the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles. However, the Packers were unable to garner the necessary support from the other owners to succeed in banning the tush push, getting only 16 of the required 24 league owners to vote in their favor. When this proposal was re-introduced in May, it fell two votes shy of meeting the two-thirds threshold. The Seahawks were among the teams who voted in favor of a ban.
Needless to say, many teams have taken advantage of the tush push since the efforts to ban the play have failed. ESPN reports that a total of 112 tush pushes were attempted during the 2025 season, up from 101 in 2024. The Eagles (27 attempts) and the Buffalo Bills (17) utilized the play more than anyone else, although other teams have executed modified versions of the play with tight ends in place of quarterbacks. Philadelphia’s success rate with this play decreased this past season.
The Seahawks notably used tight end AJ Barner in the aptly-named “Barnyard” play, with Barner scoring a touchdown in one such use of the play against the Washington Commanders back in Week 9. Following the NFC Championship Game, ESPN’s Brady Henderson pointed out that the play had been quite successful for Seattle in its run to Super Bowl 60, as the team converted on 10 of 11 tush push attempts between the regular season and the playoffs.
Other proposed rule changes may come to light as the offseason progresses, but nothing of substance has been brought to McKay’s attention yet. That being said, McKay noted that the committee recently had some discussions regarding playoff seeding and the league’s catch rule, so this may not be the end for this current round of rule changes.
Field Gulls will keep readers in the loop for any other proposed rule changes as they are made known to the public.