The NFL has been holding its annual league meeting over the past few days, with the 32 franchises voting on a suite of rule changes for the 2024 season.
Fans will see a brand new kickoff play when the new season gets underway in Kansas City in September, while there are also changes to tackles and coaches’ challenges, while off-the-pitch amendments include a change to the trade deadline.
Here is a look at every rule, bylaw change and resolution voted through over the past few days.
Rule changes
- The kickoff rules have been changed to a hybrid style kickoff used in the XFL that reduces high-speed collisions and encourages more returns.
- Hip-drop tackles are now banned and will be punished with a 15-yard penalty and potential fine for the player.
- Head coaches can now make a third replay challenge if either of their first two are successful.
- Penalties can now be called for a foul committed by the offense prior to committing a turnover on a specific play. This means, for example, a team can now be called for unnecessary roughness that took place before they threw an interception, whereas before it was ignored.
- Replays can now be used to assess and overturn whether or not a quarterback was down or out of bounds before throwing a pass.
- Replays can also now be used to see if the game clock expired before a ball was snapped.
Approved bylaws
- The trade deadline has been pushed back a week to the Tuesday that follows Week 9’s slate of fixtures.
- Teams can now have no limit on the number designated for return transactions in the postseason.
- Each team can put a maximum of two players who have been placed on a reserve list on the final roster reduction day to be designated for return. Any players here will immediately count as two of their total designations.
- Quarterbacks may be elevated an unlimited number of times from the practice squad to the active as an emergency third quarterback.
Approved resolutions
- Teams must report if an injured player is not travelling to an away game before their team departs for their road trip.
- The use of Hawk-Eye video technology will be expanded in the 2024 preseason in coaches’ booths to prepare for full implementation in the 2025 season.
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