Eagles' Proposed Rule Change for 2024 Season Officially Shot Down
The Philadelphia Eagles proposed to change the NFL's onside kick rule to a fourth-and-20 conversion. Unfortunately, the proposal was declined on Monday.
Monday marked the NFL's annual league meeting, which allows teams to propose various rule changes. The Philadelphia Eagles were one team with new ideas, which included proposing the umpteenth alternative to onside kicks.
Instead of going for an onside following a touchdown, the Eagles proposed a second way for teams to receive a consecutive possession. Rather than trying to recover a kick, Philadelphia came up with an idea for teams to convert a fourth-and-20 try from their own 20-yard line. It's a change that would add some excitement and drama to the NFL experience.
Unfortunately, the Eagles must wait at least another year for their proposal to come to fruition.
Eagles News: NFL Rejects Philadelphia's Onside Kick Alternative
NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that the league has rejected the Eagles' proposal. Although the league won't go with Philly's latest suggestion, Competition Committee Chairman Rich McKay did say that "there will be another date and time" to discuss onside kick alternatives.
The #Eagles’ proposed fourth-and-20 alternative to the onside kick did not pass, again.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 25, 2024
Onside kicks have been relatively meaningless since the format changed six years ago, adding a lack of running starts and the need for five players on each side of the kicker. Due to those changes, the NFL only saw 5.6% of onside kicks recovered from 2018 through Week 10 of the 2023 campaign compared to a 13.5% success rate before the changes took place.
It'll be interesting to see what the next onside kick alternative proposal looks like. The Eagles' proposal looked fair for the most part. Teams were limited to just two fourth-and-20 tries per game, so it wouldn't get abused. Teams also wouldn't be able to change their mind and go for a kick if they took a penalty while attempting a conversion.
Previous proposals were rejected because they typically suggested a fourth-and-15 attempt, hence why the Eagles expanded things to 20 yards. Obviously, that didn't work. Who knows, though? Maybe coming back with a fourth-and-25 proposal will make the difference.
At the end of the day, the NFL needs to do something about its onside kick situation. What used to be one of the more exciting aspects of football to watch has quickly become outdated and nearly obsolete.
Perhaps the league will revisit the onside kick conundrum when they vote on proposed kickoff changes this week.
In other Eagles news:
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