NFL May Allow Replay Officials to Call Penalties for First Time

The National Football League is considering allowing replay officials to throw penalty flags for certain violations, specifically non-football acts like punching. The change would mark the first time replay officials could directly call penalties during games.

The National Football League may grant replay officials the authority to call penalties for certain infractions, marking a potential first in professional football history.

Troy Vincent, the NFL’s vice president of football operations, announced that league officials are exploring giving replay booth personnel the power to flag specific violations, particularly those involving non-football conduct.

“You don’t want to just be just expanding the Pandora’s box, but we believe that things like the non-football act, you can really, really restrict what that is,” Vincent explained during the NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis, where committee members gathered Monday afternoon. “That’s something that we believe that potentially there’s a little bit of tweaking in the language, that may be the first step.”

Vincent referenced a controversial moment from Super Bowl LX as an example of when this new authority could prove valuable. During that game, Seattle Seahawks cornerback Josh Jobe punched New England Patriots receiver Stefon Diggs, but field officials failed to call a penalty despite the clear violation.

Television replays clearly captured Diggs receiving a left-handed strike to his helmet, while cameras lingered for over 30 seconds on Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel’s frustrated response to the missed call – exactly the type of non-football conduct Vincent discussed during Monday’s meetings.

According to Vincent, there’s decreased opposition to this concept compared to previous discussions, though he emphasized any implementation would be gradual and serve as “the first step in getting to putting flags on the field” for replay officials.

Vincent also confirmed reports that no franchise proposed eliminating the controversial “tush push” play this year. The specialized short-yardage technique, perfected by Philadelphia, sparked heated debate last season when Green Bay raised player safety concerns, but efforts to ban the Eagles’ signature move ultimately failed.