Let’s see what the league has done here, shall we?
Yesterday, the NFL owners got together to vote on some rule changes for the 2025 NFL season. Some of these appear to be changes for the better, while others don’t seem to be all that helpful. Let’s take a look at all of them here and see what’s changing for the Minnesota Vikings and the 31 NFL teams that don’t matter as much.
Touchbacks on Kickoffs Will Now Be Brought to the 35-Yard Line
I assume this means the kickoffs that land in the end zone without hitting the “landing area” and bouncing through, similar to there being differences in placement last year. The idea behind this is to make a touchback such a prohibitive option that it’s better to give the other team a chance to return it, bringing more opportunities for returns. This will also cause teams to put a greater emphasis on players with great return skills, so we’ll see what the Vikings do in that regard.
Replay Assist Expands, But Not In a Really Helpful Way
Last year, we saw the debut of “Replay Assist,” which allowed the league to reverse calls without teams having to burn challenges when the call was obviously erroneous. The league has given more opportunities for this to happen in 2025, as Replay Assist can now help to have flags picked up for hits to defenseless players, face mask calls, horse collar tackles, tripping, and running into/roughing the kicker.
However, officials still can not add flags to a play that should have been called a penalty but was not. So, if a defensive player were to, for example, grab a quarterback’s helmet and try to spin his head around like Linda Blair in The Exorcist and the officials choose not to throw a flag, they can’t get it right after a review. Doesn’t seem terribly helpful, but that’s just my perspective on it. I may be slightly biased.
Overtime To Give Both Teams a Possession
The regular season overtime rules have been tweaked a bit. The extra period is still going to be 10 minutes long (despite an effort to expand it to 15), but it now mirrors the overtime rules we see in the postseason where each team gets a possession. There is an exception to this: If a team gets the ball in overtime and holds the ball for the entire 10-minute period, the other team won’t get an opportunity. Other than that, however, both teams should get a chance to possess the ball in an overtime scenario.
First Downs to Be Measured Electronically
From the “It’s About Damn Time” department, the 2025 season will see the debut of Sony’s “Hawk-Eye” technology to measure first downs. You can read more about the system here. The “chain gang” will still be on the sidelines, but they will be used purely in a backup capacity.
Other Notable Changes/Non-Changes
- The Lions proposed a rule to eliminate making illegal contact or defensive holding an automatic first down, presumably because they want to hold Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison more than they already do, which is a pretty absurd amount. That proposal failed.
- The biggest discussion, that of whether or not to ban the Tush Push/Brotherly Shove/rugby play that Philadelphia has used to great success in recent years, has been tabled until the next set of meetings in May. A proposal to seed playoff teams based on record rather than giving the division winners the top four seeds was also tabled.
- Teams can now have one phone call with up to five potential free agents during the “legal tampering” period of free agency. Previously, teams could only make contact with player agents during the two days before the actual free agency period starts, not with the players themselves.
Those are the big changes from the league meetings this week, folks. Anything in particular grab your attention?
