On Tuesday, ahead of next week’s NFL owners meetings, the league announced several rule proposals that will be on the table. As previously announced, there are only two team-submitted proposals: The Browns want draft picks to be tradable up to five years into the future, and the Steelers want to expand the use of video/phone calls with free agents during the negotiating period.
But the NFL competition committee submitted a total of eight new proposals that will be discussed next week in Arizona, and one of them pertains to a situation the Detroit Lions were involved in last year.
The rule change is listed as follows:
By Competition Committee; to allow League personnel to consult with on-field officials when considering disqualifications for both flagrant football acts and non-football acts without being called on the field.
As you may remember, back in Week 15 against the Pittsburgh Steelers, receiver DK Metcalf threw a punch at a fan in the Ford Field crowd. The on-field officials did not see the infraction, and it was not penalized. Therefore, the league’s hands were tied in potentially disqualifying Metcalf for the rest of the game. And while the Steelers receiver did not have much of an impact on the game—finishing with just four catches and 42 yards—it certainly didn’t seem right for him to be able to continue playing after an easily ejectionable action. Metcalf received a two-game suspension after the game.
Under this new rule—if it passes—the NFL would have the opportunity to intervene and eject Metcalf if a similar situation were to occur again. Here’s the specific ruling of the rule as it is being proposed:
For actions not called on the field, if designated members of the Officiating department determine prior to the next legal snap or kick that such action is flagrant, they may consult with the on-field officials regarding a potential disqualification of the offending player.
Penalty: Disqualification from the game if actions are found to be flagrant.
The tricky part here is recognizing the action prior to the next legal snap or kick. If something were to happen on the sidelines like Metcalf’s situation, it is often not seen or recognized until a couple minutes after the fact. It would require someone from the league to see this action and immediately act on it. So it’s hard to say whether Metcalf would’ve been ejected under this rule proposal.
Here’s a list of all the rule proposals for 2026. You can see the specific wording of each one by looking at the official PDF here.
Playing rule proposals
- By Competition Committee; to permit the kicking team to declare an onside kick at anytime during the game.
- By Competition Committee; to eliminate the kicking team’s incentive to intentionally kick the ball out of bounds when kicking off from the 50-yard line.
- By Competition Committee; to modify the kickoff alignment requirements for the receiving team players in the setup zone.
- By Competition Committee; to allow League personnel to consult with on-field officials when considering disqualifications for both flagrant football acts and non-football acts without being called on the field.
- By Competition Committee; for one year only, to allow the NFL Officiating Department to correct clear and obvious misses made by on-field officials that impact the game, in the event that there is a work stoppage involving the game officials represented by the NFL Referees Association
Bylaw proposals
- By Competition Committee; amends Article XVII, Section 17.1 of the Constitution and Bylaws to permit the League office to adjust the procedures and related dates and deadlines for the final roster reduction to accommodate an international game scheduled in the first week of the regular season.
- By Competition Committee; amends Article XVII, Section 18.1 (B) of the Constitution and Bylaws to establish the Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend as business days to provide clubs with personnel notices during the first weekend after the roster reduction.
- By Competition Committee; to permit players on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform to begin a 21-day practice period after the club’s second game of the regular season.
Resolution proposals
- By Pittsburgh; to make permanent the change implemented during the 2025 season that permits clubs to have one video or phone call with no more than five prospective Unrestricted Free Agent during the Two-Day Negotiation Period, and to permit clubs to make travel arrangements with such players upon agreeing to terms.
- By Cleveland; to allow draft selections to be traded up to five (5) seasons in the future.
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