Facemask penalties could be subject to replay assistance next season, NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent told reporters on Wednesday during the December League Meeting.
Facemask penalties, which currently are not subject for review, have been under scrutiny this season following a number of notable missed calls, particularly during prime-time games.
Officials appeared to miss a facemask call in the fourth quarter of Monday's Bengals-Cowboys game when a Dallas defender grabbed Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow's facemask and twisted his helmet on a strip sack. Earlier this season, an apparent facemask call was missed when a Rams defender grabbed Vikings quarterback Sam Darnold's helmet on the final drive of Minnesota's eventual loss to Los Angeles.
Vincent on Wednesday acknowledged that the position of refs and the speed of the game can make officiating facemask calls difficult in real time on the playing field, which is why an assist from New York could be beneficial.
"Concerning yes, because that’s a big miss -- that’s a big foul," Vincent said. "We would like to consider -- or for the membership to consider -- putting that foul category that we can see, putting that on the field to help because there is a frustration. We believe that is one category that we can potentially get right."
The league historically has been hesitant to have subjective plays be reviewable -- pass interference was reviewable for only the 2019 season -- and the NFL has never allowed replay to determine there was a penalty when one was not called on the field.
Making facemask fouls, which carry a 15-yard penalty, reviewable would change that precedent.
“The membership really has to decide what they want that standard to be," Vincent said on Wednesday. "That is do you want some of those things that are subjective, objective, do you want to include those? That’s why you always hear us say 'crawl, walk, jog.' … This year the facemask seemed like the obvious; that keeps showing up. A few years past it was maybe the roughing the passer, the low contact.
"That appetite will have to come from the membership. The committee will discuss where we as a unit feel like we can assist. What is that appetite? This year we started off just with hits to that head and neck area. I think we’ve been pretty good with that. Now you may expand to the facemask and you leave the lower extremity alone. That will have to come from the membership.”
While he did not discuss the potential for facemask penalties to be reviewable, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told reporters that replay assistance was discussed in detail during Wednesday's meetings.
"We’re looking to expand that," Goodell said. "We’re going to go to the committee with ways that we can do that. Fouls that may not be within their authority today, we hope they’ll be in their authority by next season.”
In addition, Vincent cited hits on a defenseless player, tripping, the fair catch, an illegal batted ball, an illegal double-team block, illegal formations on kickoffs and taunting as other areas that warrant consideration for replay assist.
Among the other topics discussed by Vincent and Goodell on Wednesday:
- Vincent was emphatic about the league’s desire to eliminate low blocks that could lead to serious injuries. “The low block below the knee needs to be removed from the game,” Vincent said. “You look at high school, you look at college, too. Every block should be above the knee, but below the neck. All the work that we’ve done for the head and neck area, all the things that we’ve taken out of the game, this is the right time for us to remove the low block out of the game. Be consistent with high school. Be consistent with college. Every block should be above the knee and below the neck.”
- The league will consider changes to the onside kick after dramatically overhauling the kickoff rule on a one-year basis. “We need to look at that. That’s a dead play,” Vincent said of the onside kick’s low success rate. “That is a ceremonial play. Very low recovery rate. When we look at the kickoff and maybe where the touchback area should be during the offseason, we need to revisit the onside kick.” Options include giving the team an opportunity to run one play to gain a certain number of yards to keep possession.
- The Washington Commanders’ search for a new stadium site includes options in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, and work has escalated on one in particular. NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell and controlling owner Josh Harris met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill last week about the RFK Stadium site in Washington, which requires a bill getting through Congress to transfer the land to the District government before anything else can happen. “I think there’s a bipartisan support for this,” Goodell said, adding he’d like to see it get to a vote soon. “We hope that it will be addressed and approved so that it’s at least an alternative for the Commanders if we go forward. I grew up in Washington, and I know would be exciting for a lot of fans.”
- The NFL continues to discuss a potential 18-game season, but would need approval from the players’ union. “We are doing analysis I would say, but we are not finalizing any plans at this point,” Goodell said. “They’ll share that analysis with the players’ union, which would need to agree to any change.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report