More rule changes could be coming to the NFL this offseason.
NFL owners will vote on proposed tweaks in March at the Annual League Meeting. For any new rule to pass, 24 of the league’s 32 owners would have to vote in favor of it.
Here are three proposed NFL rule changes to keep an eye on this offseason, including two related to kickoffs.
Moving touchbacks
The 2024 NFL season marked the first season of the new dynamic kickoff, but kickoffs could undergo even more changes in 2025.
Atlanta Falcons CEO and NFL Competition Committee co-chair Rich McKay said Sunday that the NFL will consider moving both the touchback spot and the kickoff line.
Touchbacks in the NFL were moved to the 30-yard line last season. They could move to the 35-yard line in 2025, NFL Network’s Judy Battista reported.
The kickoff line could also move five yards back — from the kicking team’s 35-yard line to its 30-yard line.
The changes are not a package deal, as Battista said it could be an “either/or situation.”
How would these moves help the NFL?
“Moving a touchback 5 yards closer to an eventual score would encourage kickers to hit the landing zone between the receiving team’s goal line and 20-yard line, as any ball caught there necessitates a return,” according to NFL Network.
Addressing onside kicks' low success rates
The NFL Competition Committee is working with special team coaches to evaluate formations that would “increase the likelihood of successful recovery,” per NFL Network.
Onside kicks could also be replaced.
McKay thinks owners will consider incorporating attempts to complete fourth-and-15s or fourth-and-20s for teams to regain possession.
Banning the tush push or ‘Brotherly Shove’
This year, the NFL is again considering banning the Philadelphia Eagles' trademark short down conversion play, the tush push or “Brotherly Shove.”
On Monday, Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations, told reporters that a team — which he did not identify — proposed a rule that would put an end to the play.
“It’s on our agenda. The club proposal is, ‘We need to make some adjustments to that. Is that a viable football play?’” Vincent told The Washington Post.
Last offseason, The Athletic’s Dianna Russini reported that NFL Commissioner Roger “Goodell wants to see this play removed from the game permanently.”
The tush push has been picked up by teams across the league but few teams have enjoyed the same success as Philadelphia.
In the past three seasons, the Eagles and Buffalo Bills have run the tush push 163 times, and 87% of those plays resulted in a touchdown or first down, according to ESPN.
The 30 other NFL teams have been able to get a touchdown or first down only 71% of the time when running the play.
Whether the tush push is banned this offseason remains to be seen. The Annual League Meeting begins March 30.