National Football League

Ordering unstable player off field among NFL proposals

Published Mar. 23, 2015 9:25 p.m. ET

Alex Marvez

The NFL will debate taking another step toward improved player safety with a resolution proposed Monday at the league's annual meeting.

A medical stoppage would occur during the game if the designated athletic trainer spotter in the press box believes officials or a team failed to recognize a player may have suffered a concussion and remained on the field. The spotter would contact the side judge to halt the action so the player could be taken to the sideline and evaluated.

Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay, who heads the league's Competition Committee, said the proposal would serve as a "fail-safe" for a player who "displays obvious signs of disorientation or is clearly unstable."

McKay said what transpired with New England Patriots wide receiver Julian Edelman during the recent Super Bowl was part of the impetus for introducing the rule. Edelman appeared woozy after taking a hard hit from a Seattle Seahawks defender but remained in the game. The Associated Press reported that Edelman was evaluated by New England's medical staff under the league's concussion protocol and cleared to return.

Edelman and Patriots coach Bill Belichick have refused to address the issue.

While the rule's intent is good, the proposal's wording could give some NFL coaches pause. The game clock and 40-second clock would both freeze while the impacted player is removed. The quarterback, though, would be barred from speaking with the sideline, coaches could not come onto the field and only the injured player could be replaced rather than a mass substitution.

That could create problems if a star player who was the focus of the play call were forced out.

The game and 40-second clocks would start running from the point at which they were stopped. However, there would be a reset to 10 seconds if the removal took place with less than 10 seconds remaining on the 40-second play clock.

Any NFL rules proposal needs approval from 24 of the 32 teams to pass.

In other rules-related matters:

● In an effort to eliminate confusion in light of the controversial Dez Bryant incompletion in last season's playoffs, the Competition Committee has proposed new language to explain what constitutes a reception.

"To complete a catch, the receiver has to have control, both feet on the ground and he has to have it after that long enough to clearly establish himself as a runner," NFL officiating chief Dean Blandino said. "If he hasn't clearly established himself as a runner prior to going to the ground, he has to hold onto the ball until after his initial contact with the ground."

In Bryant's case, Blandino said, the officials got the call right when declaring his fourth-quarter, goal-line catch attempt against Green Bay as incomplete.

"When you watch the play, Bryant is falling to the ground to make the catch," Blandino said. "He has not clearly established himself as a runner prior to going to the ground, so he has to hold on to the ball until after that initial contact with the ground. He's basically got to hold on to it throughout this action. If the ball touches the ground and comes loose, it's an incomplete pass. You'll see the ball hit the ground and then it pops loose. That's all part of the catch process."

● McKay said there is no talk about eliminating the extra point outright, but two different proposals will be under discussion. One was made by New England advocating that the line of scrimmage move to the 15-yard line to make the kick more difficult. The other was proposed in 2014 by the Pittsburgh Steelers, suggesting the line of scrimmage move from the 2-yard line to the 1, with the thinking that it would entice more teams to try two-point conversions.

● Although a proposal to guarantee that both teams in overtime receive a possession is on the docket, McKay said the Competition Committee is happy with the current format introduced in 2012. The only way the receiving team can win the game after the overtime kickoff without giving the opposition a possession is by scoring a touchdown.

McKay said the receiving and defending teams had the same exact winning percentage of .469 during the past three seasons and that 85 percent of those contests featured both teams having at least one possession. The prior "sudden death" format resulted in the receiving team winning at a 64-percent clip.

● Blandino said the physical conditioning of his crews must improve and the league is working with sports nutritionists and "performance consultants" to help some of his referees get into better shape. In an NFL memo released to the media, Blandino said officials who "exhibit problems with their movement" and "cannot cover his position physically" will be removed from the field. The league also has plans to hire at least eight new officials in 2015.

● The Competition Committee doesn't support any changes to the instant replay system that allow for review of penalties. St. Louis Rams coach Jeff Fisher, a longtime Competition Committee member, said that frame-by-frame review of calls would add "another element of subjectivity" his group believes the league should avoid.