The tush push lives for now, what other new rules were adopted by NFL?

Apr 1

Chris Francis Sports Reporter

By Chris Francis (Sports Reporter), Joey Nunez (Video Editor)

The NFL adopted several new rules at the annual owners’ meeting in Palm Beach, Florida. The new rules will go into effect this coming season.
The new rules involve kickoffs, overtime possessions, replay assists and the free-agent signing period, among other things.
The league did not vote to ban the tush push play or adjust playoff seeding rules –– those proposals were tabled for further discussion.

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The NFL owners’ meetings in Palm Beach, Florida, wrapped up Tuesday, April 1. The meetings yielded several new rules but without the big changes many expected. That doesn’t mean those proposed changes are dead, only that more discussion will take place.

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What’s happening with the tush push?

The rule change that dominated most of the weekend sessions was the Green Bay Packers’ proposed ban on the tush push play. However, no vote was taken, and the proposal was tabled for further discussion, perhaps at the next owners’ meetings in May.

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Banning the play made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles was reported to have just 16 of the 24 votes needed to pass. The Buffalo Bills, who used it second-most in the league after the Eagles, would like it banned, believing it’s a player safety issue.

“It’s two things –– it’s force, added force number one, and then the posture of the players, you know, being asked to execute that type of play,” Bills head coach Sean McDermott said. “That’s where my concern comes in.”

Will there be new playoff seeding in 2025?

Another potential rule change that was tabled was the Detroit Lions’ proposal to adjust the way teams are seeded for the playoffs. After a team earns the top spot, which comes with a bye and home-field advantage, other teams would be seeded by record, with no advantage given to teams that win their divisions.

Which new rules were adopted for 2025?

However, Tuesday did see the adoption of some new rules. The new kickoff setup is now permanent after last season’s trial run, with one slight change: The touchback spot has been moved from the 30-yard line up to the 35-yard line, which the league expects will increase actual returns.

A new overtime rule adopted for the regular season now gives both teams a possession, regardless of whether the first team scores a touchdown. That matches the NFL’s current playoff format.

Meanwhile, several new features were added to replay assist procedures. They include first-down measuring and the replay official’s ability to pick up flags thrown for things like face mask violations, running into or roughing the kicker and horse-collar tackles.

Is there any movement on Aaron Rodgers to the Steelers?

There was also news on the free agent front at the owners’ meetings. The biggest fish still out there is quarterback Aaron Rodgers, but maybe not for long. On Tuesday, Steelers President Art Rooney II talked about some of the positive signals leading to Rodgers signing with the team, such as pictures posted on social media of Rodgers throwing to new Steelers receiver DK Metcalf at UCLA over the weekend.

“I would say it was a good sign that he wanted to do that, and, you know, we keep hearing that, you know, he’s, I guess, headed in our direction, and so that seems to be all signs are positive so far,” Rooney said.

Rooney also acknowledged that it has taken longer than expected to get a commitment from Rodgers and that his organization won’t wait forever—just “a little while longer.”

One possible deadline is the NFL draft, which begins April 24. Teams usually like to have their major free agent signings wrapped up by then so they know where to focus during the draft process.

Tags: Football, NFL, NFL owners

The NFL owner’s meetings in Palm beach wrapped up Tuesday with a few rules changes but not the big moves most expected. That doesn’t mean those proposed changes are dead, just that more discussion is needed

The headliner was the Green Bay Packers proposed ban of the Tush Push play. No vote was taken, the proposal was tabled for further discussion, perhaps at the next owners’ meetings in May.
Banning the play made famous by the Philadelphia Eagles was reported to have just 16 of the 24 votes needed. The Buffalo Bills, who used it second most in the league after the Eagles, believe it’s a player safety issue and they would like it banned. The owners want to see more data in that regard.

“It’s two things, it’s force, added force number one and then the posture of the players you know being asked to execute that type of play. That’s where my concern comes in.”

Another potential rule that was tabled, the Detroit Lions proposal that would change the way teams are seeded for the playoffs. After having a number one seed with a bye and home field advantage, teams would be seeded by record, with no advantage given to teams that win their divisions.

Several new rules, however, were adopted. The new kickoff setup is now permanent after last season’s trial run, with one slight change: the touchback spot has been moved from the 30, up to the 35-yard line which the league expects, should increase returns.

A new overtime rule now gives both teams a possession, like the playoffs, regardless of whether the first team scores a touchdown.

And there were several new features added to ‘replay assist’ including first down measuring, and the ability of the replay official to pick up flags thrown for things like facemask violations, running into or roughing the kicker and horse collar tackles.

There was also news on the free agent front. The biggest fish still out there is quarterback Aaron Rodgers. But maybe not for long.

Tuesday, Steelers President Art Rooney talked about some positive signals leading to Rodgers joining the team, such as pictures posted on social media of Rodgers throwing to new Steelers receiver DK Metcalf on the UCLA campus over the weekend.

I mean yeah, I would say it was a good sign that he wanted to do that and you know we keep hearing that you know, he’s I guess, headed in our direction and so that seems to be all signs are positive so far.”

Rooney did acknowledge it has taken longer than expected to get a commitment from Rodgers and that they will not wait forever, just quote, “a little while longer.”

One possible, but not so exact, deadline could be the NFL draft which begins April 24th. Teams usually like to have their major free agent signings wrapped up by then in order to know where to focus during the draft process.
For Straight Arrow News I’m Chris Francis.