The NFL will kick off its regular season Thursday night after a busy offseason of rule changes and policy adjustments that will modify what fans see on Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays and -- new for 2023 -- one Friday.
Our annual review of those changes includes the revival of a limited "third quarterback" rule, an expansion of late-season flexible scheduling and the NFL's latest attempt to reduce kickoff returns. We've also noted a few rule proposals that you might have thought the league adopted, or at least hoped it would, but instead left unaddressed for this season.
Much of this work flowed through the league's competition committee, which has undergone changes in recent years and now includes one owner, three team executives, one general manager and four coaches.