NFL owners have approved a rule change that will increase the role of off-field personnel play in officiating NFL games.
They approved a change proposed by the Competition Committee that will allow league personnel to consult with on-field officials about disqualifying players for flagrant football or non-football acts that go unpenalized during the game. One example of such an act would be when Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe struck Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs in the head during the Super Bowl.
The initial proposal released by the league only covered that scenario, but the league has also approved allowing off-field personnel to drop flags for such acts. NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent raised the possibility of making that change last month.
That’s a significant change to the way games are officiated and it could serve to test the waters for other penalties to be called off of replay even if they aren’t initially called on the field.