Over the past few years, many of the NFL’s penalty decisions have led to plenty of criticism around the league, and if one proposed rule change goes into effect, there’s a chance that some penalties could get even more controversial in the future.
According to league insider Tom Pelissero of The NFL Network, the NFL owners are considering whether illegal hits on quarterbacks or other defenseless players should be reviewable or an automatic ejection.
I followed up on the ejections piece, which sounds a lot like the college targeting rule, and Troy said his personal opinion is it’d be difficult, and also made clear he’s against a Sky Judge or similar throwing flags. “I think chasing perfection is a dangerous place to go…”
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) December 14, 2022
“This would be significant: [NFL executive] Troy Vincent says there was discussion among owners today about whether a hit on a QB or other defenseless player should 1) Be reviewable; and/or 2) Be an automatic ejection,” Pelissero said in a Tweet. “Any change would go through the normal process and vote at the March meeting.”
Naturally, the “automatic ejection” portion of Pelissero’s report drew plenty of attention, so he asked a follow-up question.
“I followed up on the ejections piece, which sounds a lot like the college targeting rule, and Troy said his personal opinion is it’d be difficult, and also made clear he’s against a Sky Judge or similar throwing flags. ‘I think chasing perfection is a dangerous place to go…’” Pelissero said in a follow-up Tweet.
It’s safe to say this would cause quite a controversy if it went into effect.
