NFL moving trade deadline back, expanding replay assist - ESPN

ORLANDO, Fla. — NFL owners agreed Tuesday to move the trade deadline back one week to the Tuesday after Week 9 and authorized a significant expansion to the league's replay assist program.

Three penalty categories — intentional grounding, roughing the passer and hits out of bounds — were added to the list of plays replay assist can advise officials on.

In addition, they also agreed to allow teams to use a practice squad player as their emergency No. 3 quarterback on game days, after requiring that player to be an existing member of the 53-man roster last season. The flurry of moves came on a day when they also approved a massive revamp of the kickoff.

The NFL will now allow replay officials to move into the area of penalty enforcement for the first time. They will not be allowed to initiate a formal review on intentional grounding, roughing the passer or hits out of bounds. Nor can they suggest a flag be thrown. But they will be authorized to suggest a real-time reversal of a penalty on «specific, objective aspects of a play when clear and obvious video evidence is present,» according to the rule. Previously, replay officials advised officials on calls such as catch/no-catch, possession and down by contact, advice that on-field referees can accept or reject.

Intentional grounding was a play that especially caught the committee's attention after officials threw 62 flags for it in 2023, most in a season since at least 2000. But the replay assist expansion was also spurred by instances when, for example, a defender was called for roughing the passer because of a hit to the head when replays showed the contact was clearly below it. It's a step toward creating the NFL's own version of a «sky judge,» but one that gives the