Now that the dust has settled on the main wave of free agency, we shift our focus to the annual NFL League Meeting in Orlando on March 24-27.
Every year, the NFL and owners, general managers, and head coaches all meet up to discuss modifications to the game and rule changes. A plethora of new issues will be discussed this year, such as the onside kick and hip drop tackles.
Proposed NFL Rule Changes for 2024
Each year, the league has a myriad of proposals for rule changes to the game or policies within the NFL.
This year, the league will be looking into key issues for player safety, such as hip drop tackles and changing the onside kick. Additionally, they will spend time looking at proposals from teams, such as pushing back the NFL trade deadline.
Here is more on the notable rule changes being proposed.
Banning Hip Drop Tackles
The NFL competition committee has proposed a new rule to ban hip drop tackles.
The definition of a hip drop tackle is when a defender grabs a runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms and unweights himself by swiveling or dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s legs at or below the knee.
The proposed rule change would make the hip drop tackle a 15-yard penalty and grant the opposition an automatic first down.
The reason to ban the hip drop tackle is for player safety. They’ve outlined that this rule change eliminates a potentially dangerous tackling technique.
Getting Rid of Onside Kicks
The Philadelphia Eagles proposed a new rule to ban onside kicks and replace them with something much more unique.
After a team scores, instead of lining up for the rare onside-kick recovery, a team could opt to take a 4th-and-20 play from their 20-yard line.
Philadelphia listed “competitive equity and fan engagement” as the reason for the change.
Pushing Back the Trade Deadline
The Cleveland Browns, New York Jets, Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles, San Francisco 49ers, and Washington Commanders proposed a rule change to move the trade deadline to the Tuesday after Week 10. The Pittsburgh Steelers proposed to move it to the Tuesday after Week 9.
KEEP READING: What Rules Could Be Voted on at the NFL League Meeting?
The reason for this proposal is to set the trade deadline at the midpoint of the new, 18-week NFL regular season.
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