The infamous catch rule, king of many extended and uncertain replay reviews, is getting the facelift many have called for for years.
It's getting simpler.
The NFL owners have officially passed a new and reduced version of the catch rule. They voted on it at the league owners meetings in Orlando, and the change passed, in addition to a few other rule and bylaw changes:
- A foul will now be called when a player lowers his head in order to initiate contact (a lighter version of college football's targeting rule)
- Teams can now trade players who are on injured reserve.