Six rule amendments are being presented by the league’s competition committee, to go along with the four that the NFL clubs have recommended. The possible modifications for 2024 are exemplified by the committee’s suggestions for a new kickoff structure and the outlawing of the hip-drop tackle.

The new kickoff regulations, which would only be in place for a year, would change the alignments of the receiving and kicking units. If the ball landed in the designated “landing zone,” which is the space between the receiving team’s goal line and its 20-yard line, the kickoff would be stopped.

The remaining ten members of the kicking unit would line up at the opposing team’s 40-yard line, but kickoffs would still take place at the 35-yard line. A maximum of two returners are allowed to line up in the landing zone, while the receiving team would line up with at least seven players in the “set up zone,” which is a five-yard space between their own 35- and 30-yard lines.

as well as useful illustrations of how the kickoff would seem with the suggested rule modification. Next week, the owners will discuss all of this during their annual meeting.tweet.com/qYF3hnQyT1

After the ball is kicked off, the 10 players on the kicking team are immobile until the ball contacts the ground or a player in the landing zone or the end zone, and the kicker is not allowed to cross the 50-yard line until that happens. The returner(s) may move at any point before or during the kickoff, but the receiving team players in the set up zone are likewise not allowed to move until the kick has touched the ground or a player in the landing zone or the end zone.

According to the committee’s suggestion, kickoff scenarios would adhere to the following regulations:

Returning kickoffs that land in the landing zone are required.
The receiving team must return or down kickoffs that strike the landing zone and then travel into the end zone. The receiving team would get the ball at its own 20-yard line if it was downed.
Kickoffs that land in the end zone and remain inbounds after being knocked down place the ball at the 35-yard line of the receiving team. Kickoffs that bounce or go out of the end zone in the air result in a touchback at the 35-yard line for the receiving club.
If a kickoff is made outside of the landing zone, it is considered out of bounds, and the receiving team receives the ball at their own 40-yard line.

All players on the receiving team and the 10 players on the kickoff team will remain in their original positions; only the kick’s location will shift if there are any penalties that carry over to kickoffs. Penalties for scoring plays will be assessed on the subsequent attempt and will not be carried over.

The modified setup and landing zones for onside kicks will also be used in accordance with the competition committee’s proposal. Starting in the fourth quarter, the losing team has the option to signal the officials that they have an onside kick. The returning team’s drive would begin at the 20-yard line, and the kicking team would be penalized if the ball crossed the set up zone unpunished. The current on-side kick regulations are in effect.

The NFL went on to say that in order to support the new kickoff rule, should it be passed, the special teams working group will keep collaborating with the officiating department to review any necessary authorized decisions and/or additional language. All of the clubs would be asked to review and provide feedback on this text before it was finalized by May.

Regarding the hip-drop tackle, the following is how the competition committee defined the play:

If the defensive player “grabs the runner with both hands or wraps the runner with both arms; and unweights himself by swiveling and dropping his hips and/or lower body, landing on and trapping the runner’s leg(s) at or below the knee.”

A hip-drop tackle would result in a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down.

The whole list of proposed 2024 playing rules that will be put to a vote at the Annual League Meeting is provided below:

By Detroit; modifies Rule 15, Section 1, Article 1 to safeguard a club’s right to contest a third decision after one that is successful.
By Philadelphia; the first touch point after the receiving team has possession of the ball is eliminated in Rule 9, Section 2, Article 2.
By Philadelphia; modifies Rule 6, Section 1, Article 1 to allow a team to keep the ball after a score by replacing an onside kickoff attempt with one offensive play (4th and 20 from the kicking team’s 20-yard line).
By Indianapolis; modifies Rule 15, Section 3 to allow a coach or replay official to contest a foul call within two minutes of it being called.
By the Competition Committee, Rule 14, Section 5, Article 2 is amended to permit the offense to impose a major foul before the change of possession when both teams have committed fouls.
By the Competition Committee; adds a reviewable play to Rule 15, Section 3, Article 3 by include a passer’s down by contact or out of bounds determination prior to a pass being thrown.
By the Competition Committee, Rule 15, Section 3, Article 9 is amended to permit a replay review in cases when there is unmistakable visual proof that the game clock has run out of time before any snap.
By the Competition Committee; removes a potentially hazardous tackling method from Rule 12, Section 2.
By the Competition Committee; expands the ban on crackbacks to include players who move beyond the center to block a defender at or below the knee; modifies Rule 12, Section 2, Article 6.
By the Competition Committee, amending Rule 6 for a single year only, a new free kick play is created with the following goals in mind: (1) emulate a standard scrimmage play by lining up players on both teams closer together and limiting mobility to lessen space and speed; and (2) encourage more returns. enables the automatic examination by the replay official of whether a receiving team member was in the landing zone at the time a free kick touched the ground.