The NFL will be addressing the catch rule once again at the upcoming league meetings and head of officiating Al Riveron has revealed what the Competition Committee is recommending.
On Twitter, Riveron shared the committee’s recommendation that a player should be deemed to have caught a ball when they have control, two feet/another body part down and a football move. The football move is further defined as a third step, reaching or extending the ball for the line to-gain or “the ability to perform such an act.”
There’s nothing in there about going to the ground, which was a contentious part of the rule in recent years. The subjectiveness of the third part of the football move portion of the rule in particular seems ripe for similar contentiousness, however, and it remains to be seen how Riveron will be handling any replay challenges centered on that or determination of the first two parts.
NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said this week that the league will “go back to the old replay standard of reverse the call on the field only when it’s indisputable,” something many felt wasn’t the case on many Riveron-led reviews during the regular season.
The league meetings get underway on Sunday and any change to the rules requires votes from 24 of 32 teams.