All 32 team owners, as well as coaches and general managers, will be in Phoenix from March 24-27 for the NFL Owners Meeting, and it will be a busy few days.
There is a laundry list of proposed rule changes that will be discussed, with nine of them related to replay. The Competition Committee, which Coach Mike Tomlin is a member of, proposed two of the rules and the teams have proposed the others.
Steelers President Art Rooney II made it clear on Friday that the Steelers are against expanding replay, but said he isn't sure how other owners feel about it, especially on the heels of what happened in the 2018 NFC Championship Game.
"I haven't had a lot of conversations (with other owners)," said Rooney. "I would say my sense is that there is an interest in expanding replay maybe more than I would like, so I do think some of these proposals are going to get serious attention. There's more interest in looking at how we make sure that plays are getting corrected than in other years. My hope is that whatever we do ends up being a fairly limited change, whatever it is."
There are a total of 16 playing rule changes proposed, as well as six bylaw changes and two resolution changes (there were three, but one was withdrawn).
The following is a breakdown of the Playing Rule Proposals:
1. By Competition Committee; to amend Rule 6 to make permanent the kickoff rule changes that were implemented during the 2018 season.
2. By Competition Committee; to amend Rule 12 to expand protection to a defenseless player.
3. By Competition Committee; to amend Rule 14, Section 5, Article 2 to change the enforcement of double fouls when there is a change of possession.
4. By Competition Committee; to amend Rule 11, Section 4, Article 2 to simplify the application of scrimmage kick rules for missed field goals.
5. By Competition Committee; to amend Rule 14, Section 2, Article 3 to allow teams to elect to enforce on the succeeding try or on the succeeding free kick an opponent's personal or unsportsmanlike conduct foul committed during a touchdown.
6. By Competition Committee; to amend Rule 15, Section 2 for one year only to expand the reviewable plays in instant replay to include fouls for pass interference; also expands automatic replay reviews to include scoring plays and turnovers negated by a foul, and any Try attempt (extra point or two-point conversion).
6a. By Competition Committee; to amend Rule 15, Section 2 for one year only to expand the reviewable plays in instant replay to include all fouls for pass interference, roughing the passer, and unnecessary contact against a player who is in a defenseless posture; also expands automatic replay reviews to include scoring plays and turnovers negated by a foul, and any Try attempt (extra point or two-point conversion).
7. By Kansas City Chiefs; to amend Rule 16 to (1) allow both teams the opportunity to possess the ball at least one time in overtime, even if the first team to possess the ball in overtime scores a touchdown; (2) eliminate overtime for preseason; and (3) eliminate overtime coin toss so that winner of initial coin toss to begin game may choose whether to kick or receive, or which goal to defend.
8. By Denver; to amend Rule 6, Section 1, Article 1 to provide an alternative to the onside kick that would allow a team who is trailing in the game an opportunity to maintain possession of the ball after scoring
9. By Washington; to amend Rule 15, Section 2 to subject all plays that occur during a game to coaches' challenge by teams or review by the Officiating department in the instant replay system.
10. By Washington; to amend Rule 15, Section 2, Article 5 to add review of personal fouls as reviewable plays in the instant replay system.
11. By Kansas City; to amend Rule 15, Section 2, to add review of personal fouls (called or not called on the field) as plays subject to coaches' challenge in the instant replay system.
12. By Carolina, Los Angeles Rams, Philadelphia, and Seattle; to amend Rule 15, Section 2, to add review of designated player safety-related fouls (called or not called on the field) as plays subject to coaches' challenge in the instant replay system.
13. By Philadelphia; to amend Rule 15, Section 2, to add scoring plays and turnovers negated by a foul to be subject to automatic review in the instant replay system.
14. By Denver; to amend Rule 15, Section 2, to add all fourth down plays that are spotted short of the line to gain or goal line to be subject to automatic review in the instant replay system.
15. By Denver; to amend Rule 15, Section 2, to add all Try attempts (Extra point or Two-point conversion) to be subject to automatic review in the instant replay system.
16. By Competition Committee; to amend Rule 15, Section 1, Article 5 to allow League personnel to disqualify for both flagrant football and non-football acts.
The following is a breakdown of the Bylaw Proposals:
1. By Buffalo; to amend Article XVII, Section 17.4 to liberalize the rule for reacquisition of a player assigned via waivers.
2. By Competition Committee; to amend Article XVII, Section 17.1 to provide clubs with more roster flexibility during training camp.
3. By Competition Committee; to amend Article XVIII, Section 18.1 to provide teams more effective access to players during the postseason.
4. By Competition Committee; to amend Article XIV, Section 14.3(B)(8) to make the tie-breaking procedures fairer for the selection meeting.
5. By Competition Committee; to amend Article XVII, Section 17.1 to provide additional roster spots during the preseason.
6. By Competition Committee; to amend Article XVII, Section 12.3 to offer more roster flexibility.
The following is a breakdown of the Resolution Proposals:
G-1. By Competition Committee; to amend the Anti-Tampering Policy to permit an interested club to contact a Vested Veteran before clubs have been notified of the player's termination via the Player Personnel Notice if (i) the players is not subject to the Waivers System and, (ii) the employer club has publicly announced the player's release.
G-2. By Washington; to amend current League practices regarding teams' post-game officiating inquiries and allow opposing teams to receive the League's post-game responses to any officiating inquiries submitted by either team.
G-3. Withdrawn, By Philadelphia; to continue the annual tradition of having Dallas and Detroit play on Thanksgiving, provided that one of those clubs host a home game with the other club playing away, and alternating home and away games each subsequent season.
