There will be a handful of rule changes on the table during next week’s owners meeting, including eliminating one rarely-used loophole that would impact postseason transactions.
Per Ben Volin of The Boston Globe (on Twitter), the Competition Committee proposed a bylaw that “prohibits clubs participating in the playoffs from signing players who have been terminated by clubs whose seasons have concluded.” As ProFootballTalk.com’s Mike Florio points out, this change would remedy an issue that rarely pops up. Florio couldn’t think of one occasion where a postseason team signed a cut player from an eliminated team, and he points to the 2020 playoffs when Mark Ingram and Robert Griffin went unsigned despite being eligible to join active teams.
Owners will also consider a pair of rules focused on overtime rules. The Colts and Eagles want to “allow both teams an opportunity to possess the ball in overtime,” while the Titans proposed a rule that would “allow both teams an opportunity to possess the ball in overtime unless the team with the first possession scores a touchdown and a successful two-point try.”
The Competition Committee proposed a change that would make permanent the free kick formation change that was implement during the 2021 campaign. The rule established a maximum number of players in the setup zone. Meanwhile, the Ravens, Bills, Eagles, and Buccaneers proposed an amendment to the Anti-Tampering Policy. Specifically, this change is “in regard to Secondary Football Executive positions, to allow the employer club the choice to retain its player personnel staff though the Annual Selection Meeting. After the selection meeting through June 30, the employer club is required to grant permission for another club to interview and hire a non-high-level executive or non-secondary football executive for a secondary football executive position.”
10 minute full OT followed by a 5 minute sudden death double overtime in the regular season. Playoffs, the double OT goes until someone wins.
Simple, fair, solves the current problems with OT.
Essentially what I’ve endorsed, though with these caveats that basketball has begun to adopt under “Elam Ending” rules:
– The 4:00 mark is key… any tie or lead change at that point causes immediate 10 min OT to begin, and the team causing that is the one that kicks off.
– Target winning score is set, which is 10 pts more than the highest score entering OT–if either team achieves that score, they win.
(Ex: 24-20, first team that gets to 34 pts wins)
– If neither team achieves the target score, the team in the lead at the end of the 10:00 OT period is the winner.
– Initial kickoff is a normal NFL kickoff, but all after that conform to same kickoff rule as applies after a safety–thus contributing to fewer plays on a team’s own side of the field
– If tied after 10:00 of OT, sudden death OT period begins with the team that kicked off the first OT getting to receive a normal NFL kickoff.
Not as simple, but significantly reduces the concern of player exhaustion, while retaining the fairness of both teams getting equal opportunity to win.
No OT. In the event of a tie just award a W to the team that has fewer players on sexual assault and gun related charges.
what is the point of TEN’s proposal? you then just have the same issue.
Each team gets possession from the 50 yard line all TDS must go for 2, no clock play until there is a winner
It is past time to address an offensive fumble “through” the end zone. So tired of seeing the defense rewarded with a touchback on a ball that wasn’t actually recovered.