Lions propose three changes to league rules, bylaws; here's how they would work

Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News on Mar 19, 2025

Published in Football

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

DETROIT — Although the Detroit Lions haven't been very active in free agency this offseason, the franchise still has been quite busy.

According to an announcement from the NFL, the Lions were responsible for proposing two amendments to league bylaws and one playing rule change, all of which will be voted on in two weeks at the NFL's league meetings in Palm Beach, Fla.

The first bylaw proposal seeks to amend the current playoff-seeding format, something that was a hot topic of conversation entering the winner-take-all finale between the Lions and Minnesota Vikings in Week 18 in which the NFC North title and No. 1 seed in the conference were on the line. The proposal suggests all playoff seeds are determined by record, allowing wild-card teams to be slotted higher than division winners. Currently, seeds 1-4 are held by division winners (sorted by record), with seeds 5-7 going to the wild-card teams. This forced the Vikings, after a 14-3 season, to begin their postseason on the road against the 10-7 Los Angeles Rams.

Under the Lions' proposal, the No. 1 seed in each conference will still be entitled to a first-round bye, and the four division winners in each conference will still clinch a playoff berth. However, the division winners will no longer clinch an automatic home playoff game.

The perceived strength of the NFC North makes this an interesting proposal going forward; last season, the Vikings became the first team in NFL history to win 14 games and play in the wild-card round. The Packers, at 11-6, fell one win shy of tying the record for most wins by a team to finish third in its own division.

Detroit's listed reason for submitting the change was "competitive equity. Provides excitement and competition in late-season games. Rewards the best-performing teams from the regular season," the proposal states.

The Lions' second bylaw proposal would exclude from the 90-man preseason/training camp roster a player who is placed on injured reserve before the roster is cut down to 53 players. This would allow players who suffer preseason/training camp injuries to immediately go on injured reserve and not count against the 90-man roster limit.

The language on the amendment is a bit confusing, but here's an example of how the proposed rule would work:

Defensive end Nate Lynn was having a great training camp as an undrafted free agent in 2024 before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury. Because he showed promise, the Lions wanted to keep him around, so they placed him on injured reserve on Aug. 11 instead of waiving him altogether, which would allow all 31 other teams to put a claim in on the player. The move helped keep Lynn in Detroit, but cost them a roster spot over the final two weeks of preseason. The proposed change would have allowed the Lions to put Lynn on injured reserve while also backfilling his spot on the 90-man roster.

As stated by the Lions in their proposal, the amendment would allow "clubs to better manage their 90-man roster late in the season in the event of an unusually high number of players being placed on the reserve/injured list."

Lastly, the Lions proposed a change in the playing rules that would eliminate automatic first downs from penalties for defensive holding and illegal contact. Both penalties are currently worth a loss of 5 yards and an automatic first down; under Detroit's proposal, the penalties would function similarly to offsides penalties, where a loss of 5 yards will still occur but the offense would not be granted an automatic first down.

Two other playing rule changes were proposed, both by NFC teams.

The Packers motioned to ban the "tush push," the play famously run by the Philadelphia Eagles that allows players in the backfield to immediately aid the quarterback's momentum by pushing on their backside. The official proposal, which cites player safety and pace of play as its reasoning, "prohibits an offensive player from pushing a teammate who was lined up directly behind the snapper and receives the snap, immediately at the snap."

The Eagles proposed a rule change that would alter the NFL's regular-season overtime rules, making them uniform with their playoff overtime rules, which grants both teams at least one offensive possession. Unlike the postseason, where a winner must be provided, teams can still play to a tie. The proposal also would expand overtime from 10 minutes to 15.