The NFL may be getting closer to allowing replay officials to throw penalty flags during games.
The league’s competition committee is discussing whether to allow replay officials to flag non-football conduct during this week’s game in Indianapolis.
“You’re not just trying to expand Pandora’s box, but we believe that with things like non-football conduct, you can really limit the scope of it,” said Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president of football operations. “We believe there could be some adjustments to the language and that could be a first step.”
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While the opportunity is extremely limited and cannot change anything football-related, Vincent pointed to two incidents from last season that would have allowed rules officials to throw a flag if they had done so.
The most high-profile incident occurred during Super Bowl 60 when New England Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs and Seattle Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe became involved on the sidelines. In the fourth quarter of that game.
After the two separated, the game continued normally without throwing a flag.
If the on-site replay officials were able to do this, they might award an immediate penalty or even eject Job. But instead, neither Job nor Diggs was punished because nothing was evaluated in real time.
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However, Vincent admitted he was hesitant about the possible changes and knows how frustrating it can be for a player to receive such a late penalty during a game.
“This could be the first step to planting a flag on the field,” he said. “I just think that in an era of legalized sports betting, as a former player, I would find it very difficult to be at Lincoln Financial [Field]a big game happens, nothing happens in real time in the stadium, and then all of a sudden, 10 seconds or 12 seconds or 25 seconds later, the ball breaks again, and I get it [a flag] On the field before the next possession. I have no idea. “
