NFL Might Stop Allowing Players to Leave Sidelines for Celebrations

According to a report, the NFL may no longer allow players to leave the sidelines for the sake of celebrating touchdowns with their already on-field teammates.

The Washington Post’s Mark Maske wrote that a discussion on that subject will take place this week when the league’s competition committee convenes at the combine in Indianapolis. Under the proposed…proposal, players who are already on the field can still partake in whatever f*ckery they’d like, but if a player from the sideline rushes into the end zone to do the same then his team will be penalized. This particular idea has gained traction since “some teams” have complained about players entering the field of play during such occasions.

“If you’re on the field, fine,” said one such person. “There would be no changes there. [But] there are some coaches and some clubs who don’t want to have players leaving the bench area to participate.”

This may seem like, both, a minor change to you and also something that would seem to be beneath a majority of the rules committee. However, there are still a few fairly major hurdles to clear before this would be implemented. First, a discussion has to take place and an actual proposal has to be put forth. Then, 75 percent of the league’s owners would have to vote in favor of the new rule. More pressing (may be) a discussion over allowing instant replays to determine certain penalties (see: pass interference). That is also slated to be considered.

All potential rules changes will be voted on in March during the NFL owners meetings. So keep an eye out for those.