Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes was in favor of a fourth-and-15 alternative to the onside kick. Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

NFL tables proposed rule change for onside kick

By Zac Wassink | Last updated 5/28/20

Last week, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero‏ excited football fans by reporting the league could borrow an idea from the Alliance of American Football and replace onside kicks with 4th-and-15 situations:

It appears that proposal is gone before we were able to truly appreciate it.

On Thursday, Pelissero tweeted that the onside kick alternative has been tabled by NFL owners because it didn't have adequate support:

NFL owners have tabled the 4th-and-15 alternative to the onside kick, I’m told. Further discussion needed.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 28, 2020

There was no official vote on the 4th-and-15 proposal, but they did take a (virtual) show of hands and it did not have the support to pass at this time. A bold idea that would've needed 24 of 32 votes. Expect it to come up again. https://t.co/XRuJBIlEG9
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) May 28, 2020

One concern had by critics was teams could retain possession not by earning a first down but through a defensive penalty such as holding or pass interference that are often thought to be judgment calls.

We guess Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes will have to play special teams if he wants to be directly involved with such game scenarios.