NFL won’t be changing rules related to end zone fumbles. What does that mean and why?
While we’ve seen a number of rule changes in MLB ahead of the 2024 season, it appears the NFL will not be following suit. Here’s a look at what that means.
Though we may still see some unprecedented changes in the league’s salary cap, we won’t be seeing any tweaks where fumbling in the end zone is concerned largely because of the fact that such occurrences don’t occur very often.
NFL won’t alter the end zone fumble rule
According to comments made by Stephen Jones on Tuesday, the discussion about changing the rule as it relates to fumbling the ball in the end zone and possession going to the opposition has “died.”
To be fair, the Dallas Cowboys executive vice president and NFL competition committee member’s comments only cemented what we already learned in reports on Monday i.e., the topic was discussed by the committee, but deemed unnecessary due to how rarely such an event occurs. Further to that, it was also felt that ball carriers could do more to protect the ball as they attempt to score a touchdown.
So, what can we assume about the NFL’s position?
Of course, the term ‘rare’ does not negate the idea that it does in fact occur. Fans will recall one instance just this past season when the newly crowned Super Bowl champions, the Kansas City Chiefs, were playing in the AFC divisional round.
Chiefs wide receiver Mecole Hardman fumbled just short of the goal line and as a result, the Buffalo Bills were awarded possession as the ball went through the end zone. There was also the Minnesota Vikings’ wide out Justin Jefferson who saw a similar thing during a Week 2 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.
Ultimately, if there is one takeaway from this most recent development, it’s that the NFL is not opposed to changing the rules, but rather has not come up with an alternative. If possession of the ball is not relinquished after a turnover, then what should be the result? Regarding the context of it all, it’s worth noting that there was only one instance of an end-zone-fumble-to-touchback play during the 2021 season. To be clear, any movement on this matter would require that three-fourths of NFL teams vote in favor of it. To date, we’ve seen 24 teams do so i.e., we won’t be seeing any change on this matter just yet.