Report: Refs to not call roughing the passer on incidental contact

Feb 13, 2022; Inglewood, CA, USA; NFL referee Ron Torbert during the Cincinnati Bengals game against the Los Angeles Rams in Super Bowl LVI at SoFi Stadium. Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports

Report: NFL referees to not call roughing the passer on incidental contact

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Grey Papke | Last updated 8/11/22

The NFL is tweaking its approach to enforcing one penalty that proved controversial last season.

The league is cracking down on roughing the passer calls in 2022, according to Jonathan Jones of CBS Sports. However, this enforcement should result in fewer penalties, as referees will be instructed not to call roughing the passer on incidental contact.

In other words, the NFL will continue throwing a flag when there is “forcible contact” to the head and legs of a quarterback. Accidental contact, however, will be excused. Ideally, this should cut down on soft roughing the passer calls.

This should come as welcome news to NFL fans. Hopefully, it means that penalties like this will be eliminated going forward, as pretty much no fans believed them to be justified.

This article first appeared on Larry Brown Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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