Amendments and Changes
The NFL has approved several new rules for the 2024 season aimed at improving the game and player safety. Here’s a rundown of the changes:
- Challenge Protection: Detroit’s proposal has amended Rule 15, Section 1, Article 1. This change ensures a team’s ability to challenge a third ruling if they have previously had one successful challenge.
- Major Fouls: The Competition Committee’s amendment to Rule 14, Section 5, Article 2, now allows enforcement of a major foul by the offense before a change of possession when both teams commit fouls.
- Reviewable Plays: Another change by the Competition Committee to Rule 15, Section 3, Article 3, includes a ruling where a passer is down by contact or out of bounds before throwing a pass as a reviewable play.
- Game Clock Reviews: Rule 15, Section 3, Article 9, has been amended to permit replay reviews when there is clear and obvious visual evidence that the game clock expired before any snap.
- Tackling Technique: The Competition Committee has modified Rule 12, Section 2, to eliminate a potentially dangerous tackling technique, enhancing player safety.
- Free Kick Play: For one year, Rule 6 has been amended to introduce a new form of free kick play. This rule is designed to resemble a typical scrimmage play by aligning players closer together and limiting movement, aiming to reduce space and speed and promote more returns.
Removal of Hip-Drop Tackle
In a unanimous decision, NFL clubs have voted to ban the hip-drop tackle, a move set to enhance player safety significantly.
A hip-drop tackle is defined by the following technique: a defender wraps up the ball carrier, rotates or swivels their hips, and unweights themselves, dropping onto the ball carrier’s legs. This can lead to severe injuries, and starting this season, using this technique will result in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down.
Key points of the hip-drop tackle rule:
- The defender grabs or wraps the runner with both hands or arms.
- The defender unweights themselves by swiveling and dropping their hips/lower body onto the runner’s legs below the knee.
These changes reflect the NFL’s ongoing commitment to player safety and fair play.
