Plus, a look at the new kickoff rule and a Christmas day game.
The NFL approved a handful of rule changes and bylaws Tuesday morning. The new kickoff rule will impact every team. Here are some cliff notes from the NFL’s hybrid kickoff:
- More returns are guaranteed, as any kick between the 20 and the end zone must be returned
- No fair catches
- Bouncing touchbacks go to the 20
- End zone touchbacks go to the 3-
- Kicks that don’t reach the 20 results in a touchback at the 40
Here’s a visual of what to expect the new kickoffs to look like:
Three XFL Rules I really like:
1. Tiered PAT
Run or Pass from the:
2-yard line = one point
5-yard line = two points
10-yard line = three points2. Options to keep the ball
4th and 15 conversion from own 25-yard line (4th quarter only)
3. Kickoff
Teams begin play five yards… pic.twitter.com/myh5rvSeKf
— Coach Dan Casey (@CoachDanCasey) February 20, 2023
- The NFL also moved back the trade deadline, which the Pittsburgh Steelers proposed. The new deadline will be the Tuesday following the Week 9 games.
Initially, Cleveland Browns general manager Andrew Berry spearheaded a multi-team proposal that requested the deadline be pushed back two weeks to Week 10, but the league met in the middle, and the deadline was moved back one week instead.
The Competition Committee’s reason for the approval is: “Sets the trade deadline one week later at the mid-point of the 18-week regular season.
Those are the two major changes from Tuesday that we haven’t already discussed. Here’s a look at all the changes:
Full list of approved rules changes and bylaws — including pushing back the trade deadline one week to the Tuesday after Week 9. pic.twitter.com/PZVh3tsLRT
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 26, 2024
CBS Sports Johnathan Jones reported that the NFL plans to play a game on Christmas Day this upcoming season once again. If it’s the San Francisco 49ers, they’re hoping for better results than last year.
But the fact that the NFL is willing to play a Wednesday — something the league previously said they wouldn’t do — game to draw ratings tells you where their focus is: Money. This will be something the players will inevitably speak up about.
The NFL’s plan to balance it out by the teams playing on Wednesday will play the Saturday before. So, they could be looking at a Saturday-Wednesday-Sunday schedule. Three games in under two weeks with the playoffs right around the corner, not to mention this being late in the season, so these are already playoff-type games.
Another proposal that passed that almost assuredly was related to the San Francisco 49ers and Brock Purdy’s injury in the NFC Championship was how teams can elevate their emergency quarterback.
The language changed for how teams can elevate an emergency third quarterback. Now, each club may elevate a bona fide quarterback from the Practice Squad to be its emergency third quarterback in conjunction with two Standard Elevations a club receives each week. There is no limit to the number of times a club may elevate such practice squad quarterbacks to be the emergency third quarterback.
The effect: Expands the Standard Elevation rules to permit clubs to elevate a bona fide quarterback an unlimited number of times from its practice squad to its Active List to be its emergency third QB.
The reason: Roster flexibility.