How the NFL’s Proposed Rule Changes Could Affect the League

Here are the people who are going to be responsible for defining what a catch is in the NFL:

Rich McKay (chairman) – president, Atlanta Falcons
John Mara – owner, New York Giants
Mark Murphy – president, Green Bay Packers
Ozzie Newsome – general manager, Baltimore Ravens
Mike Tomlin – head coach, Pittsburgh Steelers
John Elway – general manager, Denver Broncos
Sean Payton – head coach, New Orleans Saints
Stephen Jones – Jerry’s son (and chief operating officer), Dallas Cowboys

When the league thinks about making a change, it turns to the competition committee to make a decision. After this week’s NFL combine, the committee will meet to finalize proposals. The Ringer put together some of the proposals the committee is considering.

The Proposal: An Update to the NFL’s Rules About What Constitutes a Catch: This is a huge problem. A decision would fix referees having to make judgment calls based on vague guidelines. But the downside is that the language could get even more infuriating.

The Proposal: Let Teams Hire Coaches From Playoff Teams During the Postseason: This rule would help ensure another NFL team doesn’t get the Josh McDaniels treatment.

The Proposal: Change Pass Interference From a Spot Foul to a 15-Yard Penalty: Questionable pass interference calls can vault a team into scoring territory and swing games.