No, there will not be a 4th-and-15 alternative to the onside kick for teams to try during the 2020 NFL season. But three of the seven playing rules proposals NFL team owners considered this offseason passed Thursday as new rules for 2020, as did one of three bylaws proposals.

The onside kick alternative proposal, submitted by the Eagles, was tabled by NFL team owners because more discussion of the potential rule change is needed. (Which is probably true.)

DeCOURCY: Proposed onside kick rule change should be booted off the planet

The rule amendment that would have added a “booth umpire” as the eighth game official to the officiating crew was withdrawn, but team owners did approve the competition committee report that “includes a plan to test in the preseason expanded booth-to-official communication with certain objective info.”

Below are the details of the playing rules and bylaws that were adopted by NFL team owners Thursday.

New NFL rules for 2020

Automatic replay review

This amendment to Rule 15, Section 2 “makes permanent the expansion of automatic replay reviews to include scoring plays and turnovers negated by a foul, and any successful or unsuccessful try attempt.​​”

Below is the rulebook entry, with the new language underlined:

ARTICLE 2. REPLAY OFFICIAL REQUEST FOR REVIEW.

Only the Replay Official or the Senior Vice President of Officiating or his or her designee may initiate a review of a play:
(a) that begins after the two-minute warning of each half;
(b) throughout any overtime period;
(c) when points are scored by either team;
(d) that is a successful or unsuccessful Try attempt; and
(e) when on-field officials rule:

• (1) an interception by an opponent;
• (2) a fumble or backward pass recovered by an opponent or that goes out of bounds through
• the opponent’s end zone;
• (3) a scrimmage kick touched by the receiving team and recovered by the kicking team; or
• (4) a disqualification of a player.

Such plays may be reviewed regardless of whether a foul is committed on the play that, if accepted, would negate the on-field ruling.

The Replay Official may only challenge a play until the next legal snap or kick. The Replay Official may consult with a designated member of the Officiating department at the league office regarding whether to challenge a play.

Defenseless player protection

This amendment to Rule 12, Section 2, Article 9 “expands defenseless player protection to a kickoff or punt returner who is in possession of the ball but who has not had time to avoid or ward off the impending contact of an opponent.”

Below is the rulebook entry, with the new language underlined:

ARTICLE 9. PLAYERS IN A DEFENSELESS POSTURE.

It is a foul if a player initiates unnecessary contact against a player who is in a defenseless posture.

(a) Players in a defenseless posture are:

• (5) A runner already in the grasp of a tackler and whose forward progress has been stopped.
• (6) A kickoff or punt returner attempting to field a kick in the air who has not had time to clearly become a runner. If the player is capable of avoiding or warding off the impending contact of an opponent, he is no longer a defenseless player.
• (7) A player on the ground.

(b) Prohibited contact against a player who is in a defenseless posture is:

• (1) forcibly hitting the defenseless player’s head or neck area with the helmet, facemask, forearm, or shoulder, even if the initial contact is lower than the player’s neck, and regardless of whether the defensive player also uses his arms to tackle the defenseless player by encircling or grasping him;
• (2) lowering the head and making forcible contact with any part of the helmet against any part of the defenseless player’s body; or
• (3) illegally launching into a defenseless opponent. It is an illegal launch if a player (i) leaves both feet prior to contact to spring forward and upward into his opponent, and (ii) uses any part of his helmet to initiate forcible contact against any part of his opponent’s body. (This does not apply to contact against a runner, unless the runner is still considered to be a defenseless player, as defined in Article 9.)

Notes:

(1) The provisions of (b) do not prohibit incidental contact by the mask or helmet in the course of a conventional tackle or block on an opponent.
(2) A player who initiates contact against a defenseless opponent is responsible for avoiding an illegal act. This includes illegal contact that may occur during the process of attempting to dislodge the ball from an opponent. A standard of strict liability applies for any contact against a defenseless opponent, even if the opponent is an airborne player who is returning to the ground or whose body position is otherwise in motion, and irrespective of any acts by the defenseless opponent, such as ducking his head or curling up his body in anticipation of contact.

Penalty: For unnecessary roughness: Loss of 15 yards and an automatic first down. The player may be disqualified if the action is judged by the official(s) to be flagrant.

Game clock manipulation

This change to Amend 4, Section 3, Article 12 “prevents teams from manipulating the game clock by com​​mitting multiple dead-ball fouls while the clock is running.​”

Below is the rulebook entry, with the new language underlined and deleted language struck through:

ARTICLE 2. SCRIMMAGE DOWN.

Following any timeout (3-37-1), the game clock shall be started on a scrimmage down when the ball is next snapped, except in the following situations:

(e) If the game clock is stopped after a down in which there was a foul by either team, following enforcement or declination of a penalty, the game clock will start as if the foul had not occurred, except that the clock will start on the snap if:

• (1) the foul occurs after the two-minute warning of the first half;
• (2) the foul occurs inside the last five minutes of the second half; or
• (3) the offense commits a dead-ball foul during the fourth quarter or overtime that is accepted; or
• (4) a specific rule prescribes otherwise.

NFL rule changes: Approved bylaws for 2020

NFL owners on Thursday also voted to approve one of the three 2020 bylaws proposals.

The new rule, submitted by the league office, increases the number of players who may be designated for return from two to three. It also incorporates interpretations applicable to bye weeks during the regular season and postseason.​​​

In addition to the increase in the number of players who can return from IR, now a player placed on IR is not eligible to return until eight “games” (rather than weeks) have elapsed since the date he was placed IR.

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