2023 Rule Changes

[HisRoyalSweetness]

Rule changes submitted by teams for consideration:
Source: https://www.nfl.com/news/eagles-proposa ... ubmissions

• Allow players to wear No. 0 as a jersey number and allow kickers and punters to wear any numeral between 0-49 and 90-99.
  (Philadelphia Eagles)

• Permit a team to maintain possession of the ball after a score by substituting one offensive play -- fourth-and-20 from the kicking team's 20-yard line – in place of an onside kick attempt.
  (Philadelphia Eagles)

• Make the adjustment of the play clock following an instant replay reversal consistent with other timing rules.
  (Los Angeles Chargers)

• Expand the coaches' challenge system to include personal fouls called on the field.
  (Detroit Lions)

• Provide clubs more opportunities for a third challenge.
  (Detroit Lions)

• Expand the Replay Official's jurisdiction to allow for consultation regarding penalty assessment.
  (Detroit Lions)

• Expand the Replay Official's jurisdiction to allow for review on failed fourth down attempts.
  (Houston Texans)

• Make fouls for Roughing the Passer called on the field subject to replay assist and/or review by a coach's challenge.
  (Los Angeles Rams)

• Expand the crackback prohibition to players who go in motion and go beyond the center to block ("split-flow block") a defender below the waist.
  (New York Jets)

The Eagles jersey number submission is just trivial and unnecessary. I still don't like the previous rule change. I preferred it when a jersey number helped identify a player's position. I'm not a fan of their proposal to replace onside kicks either.

The other submissions on the other hand seem much more sensible. I hate these restrictions on what you can challenge and what can be reviewed. How many times have we seen bad calls on personal fouls and roughing calls in the past couple of seasons, with perfectly legitimate tackles and hits being flagged?

[HurricaneBear]

I actually like all those proposals except for the 4th and 20 one.

I love the number change proposal but then again I'm pretty sure I'm in the minority on here about liking the last number rule change. I hate when they restrict players numbers. Let them play with what number they want to

[Moriarty]

Rule changes submitted by teams for consideration:
Source: https://www.nfl.com/news/eagles-proposa ... ubmissions

• Permit a team to maintain possession of the ball after a score by substituting one offensive play -- fourth-and-20 from the kicking team's 20-yard line – in place of an onside kick attempt.
  (Philadelphia Eagles)

I understand the desire to get rid of onsides, but this is crazy.


Miss an onside kick and the receiving team has the ball around the 45(?).

Throw an incompletion and the "receiving team" gets the ball at the 20. That's close to automatic points (probably 90% FG rate from there).
Even a 15 yd completion into a soft zone turns it over at the 35.

[HisRoyalSweetness]

A couple of articles on the rule changes that have been adopted, rejected or still to be decided:

NFL owners reject proposal to make roughing the passer penalties reviewable

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-owners-rej ... reviewable

NFL expands rule against misuse of helmet; Guardian Caps required in regular season, postseason

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-expands-ru ... gular-seas

Good to see they've got their priorities straight and have approved the important change that allows a player to wear 0 and kickers to wear any number between 0 - 49 and 90 -99 and rejected allowing potentially game changing personal foul and roughing the pass calls to be challenged.

[dplank]

A couple of articles on the rule changes that have been adopted, rejected or still to be decided:

NFL owners reject proposal to make roughing the passer penalties reviewable

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-owners-rej ... reviewable

NFL expands rule against misuse of helmet; Guardian Caps required in regular season, postseason

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-expands-ru ... gular-seas

Good to see they've got their priorities straight and have approved the important change that allows a player to wear 0 and kickers to wear any number between 0 - 49 and 90 -99 and rejected allowing potentially game changing personal foul and roughing the pass calls to be challenged.

Fuck me, I didn’t see that. WTF is the NFL thinking? These calls change games regularly, fucking fix it

[HisRoyalSweetness]

NFL owners pass rule to place ball at 25-yard line following fair catches on kickoffs

NFL owners voted on Tuesday to approve a resolution that allows players to fair catch on kickoffs with the resulting possession beginning at the team's own 25-yard line.

The new rule specifies that the fair catch off a free kick (safety or kickoff) must occur behind the team's 25-yard line in order for the ball to be placed at the 25.

The rule change will be for one year only, with the league citing "player safety" as a reason for its proposal.

"The kickoff play for us has been a play that has had a lot of changes for us over the years, all really driven by health and safety," Rich McKay, chairman of the NFL's competition committee, told NFL Network's Judy Battista. "The concussion rate on the play has gone up. It's gone up because the ball is being returned more by kicks that are being hung inside the 5-yard line. College made this rule change in maybe 2018 or 2019. We looked at their data and said, you know what, this is the right thing to do now."

McKay and NFL executive Jeff Miller said Tuesday that their modeling says the kickoff return rate will decrease from 38% to 31% and the concussion rate will drop 15% due to the approved proposal.

"We needed to do something," McKay added. "We just can't sit there and ignore that data."
...

"In our mind this is a rule that needed to be passed," McKay told reporters on Tuesday. "We needed to pass it for one year, see what the data is and consider what the future of the kickoff was. So that was kind of the pathway we took. Doesn't mean that coaches and/or players wouldn't feel negatively about it. I would anticipate they would because change always means you got to look at things differently -- and I get that. But, in our case, we're going to be driven by the health and safety data and that's what's going to inform us as far as making rules proposals."

Below is the agreed-to rule proposal:

For one year only, amend Rule 10, Section 2, Article 4 (Putting Ball in Play After Fair Catch, pg. 42) (new language underlined, deleted language struck through):

ARTICLE 4. PUTTING BALL IN PLAY AFTER FAIR CATCH. After a fair catch is made, or is awarded as the result of fair-catch interference, the receiving team has the option of puttingthe ball in play by either a:

(a) fair-catch kick (drop kick or placekick without a tee) from the spot of the catch (or the succeeding spot after enforcement of any applicable penalties or rule) (3-10 and 11-4-3), or
(b) snap from the spot of the catch (or the succeeding spot after enforcement of any applicable penalties), unless a player on the receiving team makes a fair catch of a free kick behind the receiving team's 25-yard line, in which case the ball will be put in play at the receiving team's 25-yard line.
Note: A receiver may make or be awarded a fair catch in his end zone. If there is fair-catch interference or illegal contact with the receiver after he has made a fair catch.

Full article: https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-owners-pas ... ch-kickoff

This constant watering down of kickoffs makes them a complete waste of time. May as well just scrap them. Why not replace them with punts instead since punt returns also provide an opportunity for an exciting play and apparently aren't the same cause for concern concussion-wise.

[Moriarty]

NFL owners pass rule to place ball at 25-yard line following fair catches on kickoffs

NFL owners voted on Tuesday to approve a resolution that allows players to fair catch on kickoffs with the resulting possession beginning at the team's own 25-yard line.

The new rule specifies that the fair catch off a free kick (safety or kickoff) must occur behind the team's 25-yard line in order for the ball to be placed at the 25.

The rule change will be for one year only, with the league citing "player safety" as a reason for its proposal.

"The kickoff play for us has been a play that has had a lot of changes for us over the years, all really driven by health and safety," Rich McKay, chairman of the NFL's competition committee, told NFL Network's Judy Battista. "The concussion rate on the play has gone up. It's gone up because the ball is being returned more by kicks that are being hung inside the 5-yard line. College made this rule change in maybe 2018 or 2019. We looked at their data and said, you know what, this is the right thing to do now."

McKay and NFL executive Jeff Miller said Tuesday that their modeling says the kickoff return rate will decrease from 38% to 31% and the concussion rate will drop 15% due to the approved proposal.

"We needed to do something," McKay added. "We just can't sit there and ignore that data."
...

"In our mind this is a rule that needed to be passed," McKay told reporters on Tuesday. "We needed to pass it for one year, see what the data is and consider what the future of the kickoff was. So that was kind of the pathway we took. Doesn't mean that coaches and/or players wouldn't feel negatively about it. I would anticipate they would because change always means you got to look at things differently -- and I get that. But, in our case, we're going to be driven by the health and safety data and that's what's going to inform us as far as making rules proposals."

Below is the agreed-to rule proposal:

For one year only, amend Rule 10, Section 2, Article 4 (Putting Ball in Play After Fair Catch, pg. 42) (new language underlined, deleted language struck through):

ARTICLE 4. PUTTING BALL IN PLAY AFTER FAIR CATCH. After a fair catch is made, or is awarded as the result of fair-catch interference, the receiving team has the option of puttingthe ball in play by either a:

(a) fair-catch kick (drop kick or placekick without a tee) from the spot of the catch (or the succeeding spot after enforcement of any applicable penalties or rule) (3-10 and 11-4-3), or
(b) snap from the spot of the catch (or the succeeding spot after enforcement of any applicable penalties), unless a player on the receiving team makes a fair catch of a free kick behind the receiving team's 25-yard line, in which case the ball will be put in play at the receiving team's 25-yard line.
Note: A receiver may make or be awarded a fair catch in his end zone. If there is fair-catch interference or illegal contact with the receiver after he has made a fair catch.

Full article: https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-owners-pas ... ch-kickoff

This constant watering down of kickoffs makes them a complete waste of time. May as well just scrap them. Why not replace them with punts instead since punt returns also provide an opportunity for an exciting play and apparently aren't the same cause for concern concussion-wise.

The problem is punts don't really allow for an onside kick, and they don't want to have people thinking a game is over any earlier than they have to.

[HisRoyalSweetness]

The problem is punts don't really allow for an onside kick, and they don't want to have people thinking a game is over any earlier than they have to.

But the equivalent to a 4th down play to replace onside kicks has already been proposed more than once:

From 2020:

NFL tables fourth-and-15 onside kick alternative proposal

The rule would have provided coaches the option to attempt one untimed down to convert a fourth-and-15 from their own 25-yard-line. If the play failed, the opponent would have taken possession at the dead-ball spot.

https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-tables-fou ... e-proposal

From this year:

4th-and-20 Onside Kick Alternative Among 2023 NFL Rule Change Proposals

The Philadelphia Eagles proposed allowing the kicking team to convert a 4th-and-20 from its own 20-yard line instead of an onside kick following a score.

The XFL has already put a similar rule into effect, increasing the calls for the NFL to adopt the innovation.

Just adopt a variant of that which incorporates a punt instead of a kickoff and retain the rule that penalises the kicking team if the ball goes out-of-bounds.. Teams could punt the ball, line up to go for the 15 or 20 yards to retain the ball or even run a fake punt - all plays they can run on any fourth down now so it's a minimal change to the game.

To me that's a far more enticing prospect than constantly watching kickoffs going into the end zone for a touchback or a fair catch moving the ball forward to the 25 yard line as if it's a touchback.

I can understand the health concerns around kickoffs, but this tinkering has just made them the most boring and pointless play in the game. All the changes have been designed to reduce head injuries by reducing the number of returns with the latest proposal projected to reduce them further from 38% to 31%. Where's the interest if 2 times out 3 there isn't a return?

[Grizzled]

NFL owners pass rule to place ball at 25-yard line following fair catches on kickoffs

NFL owners voted on Tuesday to approve a resolution that allows players to fair catch on kickoffs with the resulting possession beginning at the team's own 25-yard line.

The new rule specifies that the fair catch off a free kick (safety or kickoff) must occur behind the team's 25-yard line in order for the ball to be placed at the 25.

The rule change will be for one year only, with the league citing "player safety" as a reason for its proposal.

"The kickoff play for us has been a play that has had a lot of changes for us over the years, all really driven by health and safety," Rich McKay, chairman of the NFL's competition committee, told NFL Network's Judy Battista. "The concussion rate on the play has gone up. It's gone up because the ball is being returned more by kicks that are being hung inside the 5-yard line. College made this rule change in maybe 2018 or 2019. We looked at their data and said, you know what, this is the right thing to do now."

McKay and NFL executive Jeff Miller said Tuesday that their modeling says the kickoff return rate will decrease from 38% to 31% and the concussion rate will drop 15% due to the approved proposal.

"We needed to do something," McKay added. "We just can't sit there and ignore that data."
...

"In our mind this is a rule that needed to be passed," McKay told reporters on Tuesday. "We needed to pass it for one year, see what the data is and consider what the future of the kickoff was. So that was kind of the pathway we took. Doesn't mean that coaches and/or players wouldn't feel negatively about it. I would anticipate they would because change always means you got to look at things differently -- and I get that. But, in our case, we're going to be driven by the health and safety data and that's what's going to inform us as far as making rules proposals."

Below is the agreed-to rule proposal:

For one year only, amend Rule 10, Section 2, Article 4 (Putting Ball in Play After Fair Catch, pg. 42) (new language underlined, deleted language struck through):

ARTICLE 4. PUTTING BALL IN PLAY AFTER FAIR CATCH. After a fair catch is made, or is awarded as the result of fair-catch interference, the receiving team has the option of puttingthe ball in play by either a:

(a) fair-catch kick (drop kick or placekick without a tee) from the spot of the catch (or the succeeding spot after enforcement of any applicable penalties or rule) (3-10 and 11-4-3), or
(b) snap from the spot of the catch (or the succeeding spot after enforcement of any applicable penalties), unless a player on the receiving team makes a fair catch of a free kick behind the receiving team's 25-yard line, in which case the ball will be put in play at the receiving team's 25-yard line.
Note: A receiver may make or be awarded a fair catch in his end zone. If there is fair-catch interference or illegal contact with the receiver after he has made a fair catch.

Full article: https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-owners-pas ... ch-kickoff

This constant watering down of kickoffs makes them a complete waste of time. May as well just scrap them. Why not replace them with punts instead since punt returns also provide an opportunity for an exciting play and apparently aren't the same cause for concern concussion-wise.

Could not agree more. The kickoff has pretty much been neutered now, time to put it out of its misery. But here are some stats from 2 different sites:

* About 30 percent of all torn ACLs are on special teams plays
* The odds of a concussion increase 8.31, or are 731% higher, when a punt is returned versus not returned

So I imagine punt returns will be in the NFL's gunsights next.

[pus]

NFL owners pass rule to place ball at 25-yard line following fair catches on kickoffs

NFL owners voted on Tuesday to approve a resolution that allows players to fair catch on kickoffs with the resulting possession beginning at the team's own 25-yard line.

The new rule specifies that the fair catch off a free kick (safety or kickoff) must occur behind the team's 25-yard line in order for the ball to be placed at the 25.

The rule change will be for one year only, with the league citing "player safety" as a reason for its proposal.

"The kickoff play for us has been a play that has had a lot of changes for us over the years, all really driven by health and safety," Rich McKay, chairman of the NFL's competition committee, told NFL Network's Judy Battista. "The concussion rate on the play has gone up. It's gone up because the ball is being returned more by kicks that are being hung inside the 5-yard line. College made this rule change in maybe 2018 or 2019. We looked at their data and said, you know what, this is the right thing to do now."

McKay and NFL executive Jeff Miller said Tuesday that their modeling says the kickoff return rate will decrease from 38% to 31% and the concussion rate will drop 15% due to the approved proposal.

"We needed to do something," McKay added. "We just can't sit there and ignore that data."
...

"In our mind this is a rule that needed to be passed," McKay told reporters on Tuesday. "We needed to pass it for one year, see what the data is and consider what the future of the kickoff was. So that was kind of the pathway we took. Doesn't mean that coaches and/or players wouldn't feel negatively about it. I would anticipate they would because change always means you got to look at things differently -- and I get that. But, in our case, we're going to be driven by the health and safety data and that's what's going to inform us as far as making rules proposals."

Below is the agreed-to rule proposal:

For one year only, amend Rule 10, Section 2, Article 4 (Putting Ball in Play After Fair Catch, pg. 42) (new language underlined, deleted language struck through):

ARTICLE 4. PUTTING BALL IN PLAY AFTER FAIR CATCH. After a fair catch is made, or is awarded as the result of fair-catch interference, the receiving team has the option of puttingthe ball in play by either a:

(a) fair-catch kick (drop kick or placekick without a tee) from the spot of the catch (or the succeeding spot after enforcement of any applicable penalties or rule) (3-10 and 11-4-3), or
(b) snap from the spot of the catch (or the succeeding spot after enforcement of any applicable penalties), unless a player on the receiving team makes a fair catch of a free kick behind the receiving team's 25-yard line, in which case the ball will be put in play at the receiving team's 25-yard line.
Note: A receiver may make or be awarded a fair catch in his end zone. If there is fair-catch interference or illegal contact with the receiver after he has made a fair catch.

Full article: https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-owners-pas ... ch-kickoff

This constant watering down of kickoffs makes them a complete waste of time. May as well just scrap them. Why not replace them with punts instead since punt returns also provide an opportunity for an exciting play and apparently aren't the same cause for concern concussion-wise.

Heck yes, drop the kickoffs and replace them with punt returns!

My guy Dante Pettis will be unchained..

[HisRoyalSweetness]

* The odds of a concussion increase 8.31, or are 731% higher, when a punt is returned versus not returned

Ah, so punt returns are indeed an issue too. I did wonder. All we ever hear about are changes to the kickoff rules.

Having said that, this article has just been posted:

Latest NFL rule change a reminder that kickoffs are in danger: ‘To do nothing was unacceptable’
...

League officials said kickoff plays generate the highest rate of concussions every single year. Kicks hung inside the 5-yard line generated particular concern in their film study of injury incidences.
...

Miller and NFL competition committee chair Rich McKay declined to provide exact data on concussion incidences in recent years, only noting that concussions on kickoffs charted much higher than other plays in their reports.

Nineteen players suffered concussions in 2022, up from 14 in 2021 and 10 in 2020, according to data obtained and reported by Sports Illustrated. Those 19 concussions occurred across approximately 2,700 kickoffs – meaning 99.3% of kickoff plays were concussion-free.

Special teams coaches across the league presented that data as they strongly opposed and mobilized against the rule. Some felt the resulting confusion from the rule change posed a bigger health risk than the one currently impacting 0.7% of plays.
...

Modifying kickoff formats to reduce the space between teams, and thus likely the speed of the defending team’s pursuit, remains a possibility in the near future. McKay and the competition committee wonder: If kickoffs are only returned 38% of the time right now, is there an alternate format that would invite returns on more like 60% of kicks? If so, would that excite fans even more?

“If we can make it a more competitive play on a play that’s becoming more ceremonial, we should always do that,” McKay said.

Added Miller: “You want to make sure that play is still exciting and relevant.”

Eliminating kickoffs altogether is not the committee’s current preference, but neither has it been ruled out.

“We want to keep it in the game,” McKay said. “I don’t know that we know we can keep it in the game. But we want to keep it in the game.”
...

Full article: https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/latest ... YqjRFjiLPM

Of course, concussions alone don't account for the repetitive impacts that result in CTE. As the article notes, the difference with kickoffs is that the players in coverage run flat out before contact whereas with punts the contact happens immediately at the line of scrimmage so should be less impactful.

The article above also included this very good point:

Procedural questions and challenges remain, one special teams coordinator told Yahoo Sports.

“What if the ball is kicked off from the 50 after a penalty … does a fair catch still put the ball at 25?” the coach wondered in a text message. “Or if the ball is kicked off from the 20 after a penalty or safety? What if the ball is muffed (rare but will happen)? Little things but definitely some things we need to address to clean it up!”

[Grizzled]

* The odds of a concussion increase 8.31, or are 731% higher, when a punt is returned versus not returned

Ah, so punt returns are indeed an issue too. I did wonder. All we ever hear about are changes to the kickoff rules.

Having said that, this article has just been posted:

Latest NFL rule change a reminder that kickoffs are in danger: ‘To do nothing was unacceptable’
...

League officials said kickoff plays generate the highest rate of concussions every single year. Kicks hung inside the 5-yard line generated particular concern in their film study of injury incidences.
...

Miller and NFL competition committee chair Rich McKay declined to provide exact data on concussion incidences in recent years, only noting that concussions on kickoffs charted much higher than other plays in their reports.

Nineteen players suffered concussions in 2022, up from 14 in 2021 and 10 in 2020, according to data obtained and reported by Sports Illustrated. Those 19 concussions occurred across approximately 2,700 kickoffs – meaning 99.3% of kickoff plays were concussion-free.

Special teams coaches across the league presented that data as they strongly opposed and mobilized against the rule. Some felt the resulting confusion from the rule change posed a bigger health risk than the one currently impacting 0.7% of plays.
...

Modifying kickoff formats to reduce the space between teams, and thus likely the speed of the defending team’s pursuit, remains a possibility in the near future. McKay and the competition committee wonder: If kickoffs are only returned 38% of the time right now, is there an alternate format that would invite returns on more like 60% of kicks? If so, would that excite fans even more?

“If we can make it a more competitive play on a play that’s becoming more ceremonial, we should always do that,” McKay said.

Added Miller: “You want to make sure that play is still exciting and relevant.”

Eliminating kickoffs altogether is not the committee’s current preference, but neither has it been ruled out.

“We want to keep it in the game,” McKay said. “I don’t know that we know we can keep it in the game. But we want to keep it in the game.”
...

Full article: https://uk.sports.yahoo.com/news/latest ... YqjRFjiLPM

Of course, concussions alone don't account for the repetitive impacts that result in CTE. As the article notes, the difference with kickoffs is that the players in coverage run flat out before contact whereas with punts the contact happens immediately at the line of scrimmage so should be less impactful.

The article above also included this very good point:

Procedural questions and challenges remain, one special teams coordinator told Yahoo Sports.

“What if the ball is kicked off from the 50 after a penalty … does a fair catch still put the ball at 25?” the coach wondered in a text message. “Or if the ball is kicked off from the 20 after a penalty or safety? What if the ball is muffed (rare but will happen)? Little things but definitely some things we need to address to clean it up!”

Haven't seen the wagons circling on punts...yet.

[Bears Whiskey Nut]

Not making roughing the passer penalties reviewable is an egregious oversight in my opinion. Just fucking terrible. The game moves too fast, and refs are forced to interpret contact and intention in a split second. These penalties are called way too much, and as previously pointed out, often change the course of a game.

[Grizzled]

Many of the problems we see during a game could be helped by the NFL having a sky judge in a box up above but they seem resistant to the idea.

[dplank]

Many of the problems we see during a game could be helped by the NFL having a sky judge in a box up above but they seem resistant to the idea.

A thousand times YES. They did seem to sneak something in recently though, I noticed a few times an egregious missed call would be overturned without a formal review process. But I don't understand the implementation / limits on that.