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.”
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