The NFL sent a memo to all team presidents, general managers and coaches Tuesday, reminding them about the league's stance against players faking injuries in order to gain a play stoppage without using a timeout.
NFL vice president of football operations Ray Anderson said in the memo that the competition committee has reviewed the issue in the past, but it has been reluctant to propose a specific rule because of the value of timeouts within the game and because it could encourage injured players to stay in the game.
"To avoid the necessity of a rule with many unattractive qualities, teams are strongly urged to cooperate with this policy," the memo states. "We are determined to take all necessary steps to ensure that it does not become an issue. We have been fortunate that teams and players have consistently complied with the spirit of the rule over the years and this has not been an issue for the NFL. We are determined to take all necessary steps to ensure that it does not become an issue."
NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the memo was sent as an "annual reminder" to team executives.
The memo also states that NFL officials will summon anyone suspected of faking an injury to the league's New York office.
"Those found to be violators will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action for conduct detrimental to the game," the memo states. "Discipline could include fines of coaches, players, and clubs, suspensions or forfeiture of draft choices."
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