The NFL competition committee proposed changes to rules for next season around replay review and kickoff rules, which will be voted on next week along with several team proposals, including eliminating the tush push.
The committee announced a proposal Wednesday that would expand the reach of instant replay to overrule on-field calls on issues such as facemask penalties, horse-collar tackles among others.
The proposed change would allow instant replay to “advise the on-field officials on specific, objective aspects of a play and/or to address game administration issues when clear and obvious video evidence is present.”
Among several proposals to kicking rules, the committee proposed enshrining the dynamic kickoff rule that was in a trial period last season.
Another proposal would let teams declare an onside kick at any time in a game as long as the kicking team is trailing, instead of restricting onside kicks to the fourth quarter.
The committee also wants to move touchbacks to the 35-yard line “if the ball lands in the end zone and is downed in the end zone by the receiving team or goes out of bounds behind the receiving team’s goal line.” This proposal is intended to generate more returns by incentivizing teams to go for shorter kicks without increasing injury risks.
The committee released the proposed changes on Wednesday, a week after NFL teams made their own proposals.
The competition committee’s proposals will be voted on when NFL owners meet on March 30-April 2 in West Palm Beach, Fla. Proposals require the approval of at least 24 of the 32 teams.
Wednesday’s committee proposals will be voted on alongside three team proposals:
–The Green Bay Packers requested to ban the “tush push” short-yardage play commonly used by the Philadelphia Eagles.
–The Eagles proposed giving both teams a guaranteed possession in overtime during the regular season, aligning with the current playoff rules.
–The Detroit Lions proposed that playoff seeding should be based on record — regardless of division honors. That would also mean that winning a division title would not guarantee a home game in the wild-card round.
