NFL rules that were, and weren’t, changed for 2023

On Tuesday, as part of the NFL league meetings, a number of rule changes were discussed with some being excepted or rejected while others were tabled for more discussion to happen during the next meetings in May. The following is a list of some of the most notable decisions to come out of Tuesday’s meetings based from various sources.

The Number 0

The NFL has adopted a policy where the number 0 can be used for a jersey, although the number 00 received no such status. While I really have no cares as to whether or not a player wears zero, the mathematician in me would love to see negatives, radicals, imaginary numbers, or even specific constants added to the list. How great would it be to see a kicker wearing “pi” on their jersey?

Onside Kick Alternative

I didn’t expect the NFL to pass this one through, but the fact that they tabled the discussion to consider it further at a later time is interesting. Perhaps they’re waiting to see how it’s working in the XFL.

Reviewing Roughing the Passer

When a player is down by contact, crosses the goal line, or gets two feet down, it’s a little more obvious than determining “how far is too far?” in how hard one can hit the quarterback. Making a different judgment call in regards to a judgment call probably isn’t the best thing as we saw in 2019 when they tested out reviewing pass interference.

53-man Roster Cut Down

The NFL has gone back-and-forth with this. The advantage of the cut down earlier is it allows players who were towards the bottom of one roster that would be higher on another to find another team with preseason games left to go. Instead, 1,184 players will all hit free agency at the same time. Let the chaos ensue!

Third Quarterback Rule

I think this rule will likely be back this year based on the high profile game in which it would have been utilized in te NFC Championship Game. What probably needs to happen is to iron out the details of exactly how it will be implemented, hence why it was tabled. But look for it to pass at some point.

Thursday Night Football

This feels like a compromise that is based off a bad idea. Although Thursday Night Football makes a lot of money, it’s terrible for the players to take the field on such a short week. In order to get better games for the national audience, the NFL wants to be able to flex in better games for a Thursday. This just goes to show that they value TV viewership and not in-stadium participation. Some people plan once-in-a-lifetime trips to see their team play. Changing the day the game is played would be catastrophic for them. But since the NFL wants better matchups, allowing certain teams to play twice on Thursday Night Football means the ones that don’t draw an audience won’t be burdened with it at all.

Everything Than Passed

To see a list of all the rules that were passed by the NFL owners on Tuesday, check out the following tweet from NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero: