The New England Patriots were one of five teams that voted against a new touchback rule, which will allow the receiving team to start automatically at the 25-yard line after a fair catch, according to SI.com’s Albert Breer.
The Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals, Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions were the other teams that reportedly voted against the proposed rule change.
The interesting thing about this rule is that it was only approved for the 2023 season. That would have given it a chance to be re-evaluated in 2024, according to a report from NESN’s Zack Cox.