NFL Trade Deadline Pushed Back 2 Weeks; New IR Rule Implemented

Details are starting to trickle out on the new injured reserve rules adopted by the NFL and NFLPA. The new rules which will allow a player to go onto IR and return that season will include an exemption for this year only for those players who have already been placed on IR.

The highlights of the new rule are that a “major injury” is defined as a player that’s out for six weeks, a player has to be “designated for return” at the time of his placement on IR and a player can return once he’s been on the IR list for eight weeks.

The NFL and NFLPA have finally agreed on something. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the two sides agreed to push the trade deadline back by two weeks and to implement the new injured reserve rule. The two sides were thought to have agreed to this months ago but they never could come to an agreement on the final details. Now they have.

The trade deadline will be moved from Week 6 to Week 8, which could spur more trading around the deadline. The deadline will actually be the Tuesday after Week 8. The problem with having it early is that most teams still believe they have a shot in Week 6 and are therefore unwilling to part with star players. By moving it back two weeks we could see more action.

The NFL and NFL Players Association have not been able to put changes to the injured reserve rules and the trade deadline into effect, according to a report from NFL.com.

The NFL’s competition committee affirmed the changes to both issues at the trade deadline in the spring. One alteration would allow clubs to identify one player who could come off the injured reserve during the season, while the other would push the trade deadline back to Week 8 of the regular season, two weeks later than it has been.

The NFL and NFLPA were unable to agree on a new trade deadline for the 2012 season.

Owners voted in May to move the trade deadline back from Week 6 to Week 8. The owners, however, needed the NFLPA to amend the collective bargaining agreement, and it didn’t happen.

NFL owners met in Atlanta on Tuesday and passed a couple of rule changes for the upcoming season involving new pads that will be required, an extension of the trade deadline and a new wrinkle in the rules regarding the Injured Reserve. The changes the league make sense in my eyes, but not all of the players agree with them.

First, the NFL owners voted to make knee and thigh pads mandatory. This rule change will start in 2013 so that equipment makers have time to tweak the current equipment.

NFL owners are gathering in Atlanta this week to discuss a number of issues, including a handful of proposal rule changes. Among those changes is a proposal to extend the trade deadline from Week 6 to Week 8, allowing one player on IR to return later that season and making knee and thigh pads mandatory.

The votes are in and we have some results.

NFL players will be required to wear knee and thigh pads beginning with the 2013 season. Owners voted approved the rule change at their Tuesday meeting in Atlanta, one of several changes up for a vote.

The change still has to be approved by the NFLPA because it constitutes a chance in working conditions which are covered by the CBA.

NFL owners are gathering in Atlanta this week for their annual May meeting. Though there is plenty of drama engulfing the league at the moment -- from concussions lawsuits to bounty scandals -- the most notable item on the agenda for owners will be a handful of proposed rule changes.

Among the items up for a vote is an extension of the trade deadline, modification of the injured reserve listing and a proposal that would require all players to padding below the waist mandatory.

NFL owners made another round of rule changes on Wednesday morning, passing five of seven possible changes. Six bylaw changes also came before owners for a vote, but five of the six were tabled for further study with a vote coming in May.

The new rules continue the league’s dance with making the game safer and more competitive while maintaining traces of the violence that makes the sport unique. However, competition outweighed safety in this round of changes, and those changes should give fans something to grumble about right away. The potential changes to the bylaws could have the most impact, especially if the league moves to up its own hot stove action by pushing the trade deadline back by two weeks.

NFL owners are meeting in Palm Beach, Fla. this week where they have voted on seven proposed rule changes. We already hit on the new overtime rules for the regular season so the next rule change involves instant replay. Owners voted to allow all turnovers to be subject to instant replay review without the coaching challenge needed.

As previously reported, the NFL rejected a rule change that would have sent all reviews to the booth.

The move to review turnovers mirrors a change made last season allowing for review of scoring plays. The rule change only applies to situations where the ruling on the field is a turnover.

Two proposed changes did not pass. Moving all video reviews to the booth was one. Removing the exception for horse collar tackles on quarterbacks in the pocket was the other changes rejected by owners.

NFL owners voted on several proposed rule changes and one of the big ones passed -- the playoff overtime rules will now be used in the regular season, too. This is a smart move because there was really no reason to have separate rules for the regular season and playoffs.

The new overtime rules are designed to give each team a shot at possessing the ball. Previous complaints were that the team that won the coin toss in overtime had a major advantage because they could cruise down the field and kick a field goal with the other team never having an opportunity to possess the ball. Under the new rules, the only scenario in which both teams don’t touch the ball comes in the event of a first-possession touchdown or a safety.

All the decision-makers from the 32 NFL teams will be convening in Palm Beach, Fla. for the annual owners meetings. Owners, head coaches, general managers and other executives will be under the same roof to discuss a number of issues around the league.

Among the items of note that will be discussed: