GREEN BAY — The NFL Competition Committee voted on a number of proposed rule changes for the upcoming 2017 season at the annual owners meetings in Phoenix on Tuesday.
Here is a rundown of which rule changes proposed by NFL teams were approved following a vote of committee members.
- The Competition Committee approved the proposal that all replay reviews will be decided by the NFL officiating department in New York. The head referee will have access to a hand-held device and can provide input, but the league will make the final decision. Packers President/CEO and committee member Mark Murphy presented the proposal.
- Players no longer will be permitted to leap over the line of scrimmage at the snap on PATs and field goals due to concerns over player safety.
- Gave a receiver running a pass route defenseless player protection.
- Made permanent the rule put into place last year that disqualifies a player who is penalized twice in one game for certain types of unsportsmanlike conduct fouls.
- Touchbacks on free kicks will be placed at the 25-yard line for one year.
- Made crackback blocks prohibited by a backfield player who is in motion, even if he is not more than two yards outside the tackle when the ball is snapped.
- Made it unsportsmanlike conduct to commit multiple fouls during the same down designed to manipulate the game clock.
- Made actions to conserve time illegal after the two-minute warning of either half.
- A motion was voted down to move touchbacks to the 20-yard line instead of the 25 if a kickoff goes through the uprights.
- Reportedly tabled the proposal to shorten overtime to 10 minutes during the preseason and regular season.
- The vote on rule changes came one day after NFL owners approved the Raiders' move from Oakland to Las Vegas. The Packers currently are scheduled to travel to play Raiders during the 2023 regular season.
