NFL Rule Changes in 2026: Tush Push to Stay; 5 proposals to vote on

This surge will continue for at least another season. After another year of debate over the legality of the push, a proposal to ban the game will not be voted on at NFL league meetings in Arizona next week. However, the competition committee will propose five more changes to the proposed rules for the 2026 NFL season next Tuesday. “It’s less talked about in the football community,” said Rich McKay, chairman of the competition committee. A proposal to ban the tush push came to a vote last May, with NFL owners voting 22 to 10 in favor of banning the game. But all proposed rule changes require at least 24 votes to be approved. That surge has come under scrutiny during the Philadelphia Eagles’ run to a Super Bowl title in 2024, with the play being one of the most successful plays in the NFL this season. Philadelphia continued to use the push push in 2025, and there was speculation that the play would be removed from play this offseason. During the Eagles’ Week 2 win over the Kansas City Chiefs last year, there were several instances where it appeared that players on the Philadelphia offensive line were offsides. FOX Sports NFL rules analyst Dean Blandino questioned the legality of the play during that game, but later said he thought it was “50-50” that the play would be banned. As for other proposed rule changes, the NFL is preparing for the possibility of replacing officials during the 2026 season, proposing a one-season rule change that would allow New York’s replay center to correct any “clear and obvious” errors made by on-field officials during a work stoppage. There are also some proposed changes that would slightly change the kickoff rule and allow the replay center to eject players for egregious acts on plays that were not penalized on the field. Here are some of the rule changes proposed by the competition committee at next week’s league meetings. Referee replacement contingencies The biggest proposal concerns the possibility if there is a work stoppage with officials and the league again uses replacement officials as it did to start the 2012 season. The current collective bargaining agreement with the NFL and NFL Referees Association expires May 31. The NFL used replacement officials for the first three weeks of the 2012 season, with several errors and bad calls. The tipping point came late in a Monday night game in Week 3 between Green Bay and Seattle when the Seahawks won the game on a contested TD catch known as the “Fail Mary.” The league later said the touchdown should have been overturned for offensive pass interference. Outrage reached the White House when President Barack Obama called for an end to the lockout, which he did days later, prompting Commissioner Roger Goodell to issue an apology to fans. Under the competition committee’s proposal, the New York replay center would be able to advise on-field officials regarding missed roughing the passer or intentional grounding penalties, as well as any actions that would have led to an expulsion if a penalty had been called. The replay center can also step in to overturn calls that have been made on multiple penalties, including illegal contact, face masks, roughing the passer, collar tackles and intentional holds. The replay center could also help overturn pass interference calls when there is clear evidence that there was “intentional foot entanglement when both players were playing the ball or neither player was playing the ball.” During the last two minutes of either half or throughout overtime, the replay center would be allowed to knock down or throw a flag for unnecessary roughness or unsportsmanlike conduct for throwing a punch, forearm or kick; as well as jumping or leverage penalties on kicks. The replay center can also correct call errors based on an encounter or roughness with the kicker. The DK Metcalf Rule The committee also proposed allowing the New York refereeing center to eject players who committed an egregious or non-football act on the field, even if it was not called for a penalty. Under the old rules, the replay center could only intervene in cases where on-field officials had called for a penalty. The proposal comes after Pittsburgh wide receiver DK Metcalf was not ejected from a game in Detroit last season when he got into an altercation with a rowdy fan. Because on-field officials did not see the play when Metcalf hit the fan and threw a flag, the replay center was unable to eject Metcalf. The league suspended him for two games, but he was able to stay in the game at that point. Kickoff Changes The committee also proposed several minor adjustments to the new kickoff rule entering its third season, including allowing teams to declare an onside kick at any point during the game. The original 2024 rule limited onside kicks to the fourth quarter when a team is trailing. Last year’s change allowed a team behind to declare an onside kick at any time and now a team can declare an onside kick regardless of the score. The committee also proposed a small change in how the receiving team lines up to receive kickoffs and made changes to touchback on kicks that start from the 50 instead of the 35 following a personal foul penalty. Under last year’s rule, the kicking team was incentivized to go out of bounds from the 50 to give the receiving team the ball the 25 instead of the 35 for a touchback. Under the new proposal, touchbacks on kicks from the 50 will be spotted at the 20. Off-field changes There have also been a few proposals to change the statutes for off-field rules. The committee also proposed giving the league flexibility to change the date of reduction day, which is currently the Tuesday following the final exhibition games, to accommodate an international game in the first week. The Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers are scheduled to open the regular season in Australia, giving the league the flexibility to change those dates depending on when the teams travel to Australia. The committee also proposed making Saturday and Sunday of Labor Day weekend business days, allowing the 24-hour waiver period for players to go into effect on those days instead of waiting until Monday. The committee also proposed allowing players who began training camp on the Physically Unable to Perform list and who were continued on the PUP list after roster reduction day to be allowed to open their 21-day practice window after Week 2 of the regular season. Players still can’t be placed on the active roster until they’ve missed four games, but they can now practice early. Owners could also vote on two proposals made last week by teams, including one by Cleveland to allow draft picks to be traded five years in the future instead of three and one by Pittsburgh to allow teams to have up to five video or phone calls with potential free agents during the negotiating window before the start of the league year. This was allowed on a trial basis this year and the Steelers are proposing that the rule be permanent. The Associated Press contributed to this report.