The NFL fined Bills safety C.J. Gardner-Johnson $11,194 for a hip-drop tackle in Buffalo’s 41-31 Week 2 win over Detroit on Sept. 17. The league’s accountability report lists it as unnecessary roughness; it is his 14th career fine.
NFL owners voted in 2024 to outlaw the hip-drop technique, making it a finable offense. It involves a defender wrapping a ball carrier, swiveling his hips and dropping his weight onto the runner’s legs at or below the knee, according to CBS Sports’ rule breakdown.
The Athletic reported Gardner-Johnson had 13 earlier fines over seven seasons, totaling nearly $195,000. That total included a $14,111 fine for a helmet-first hit on Chiefs running back Isiah Pacheco in Super Bowl LVII; the NFL later rescinded that penalty on appeal, according to Sports Illustrated.
