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The Detroit Lions could have benefited from a major rule change going into the 2025 season, but they've gotten bad news on it.
Each year, the powers at the NFL come together and revise their set of rules for the upcoming season. While September may seem like forever away, it will be here before we know it, and early next week, the league is getting together to discuss their latest set of rules.
One rule that NFL analyst and expert Mike Payton says had Detroit Lions head coach “Dan Campbell written all over it” won’t happen, though, which is disappointing news for the team.
Onside Kick Rule and the Detroit Lions
In a March 27 feature for A to Z Sports, Payton says that we already have the intel that one thing that won’t change for the following season is the onside kick.
“The UFL recently changed to a rule that had Dan Campbell written all over it,” Payton said in the piece. “They got rid of the onside kick in favor of one 4th-and-12 attempt from the kicking team’s 28-yard line.”
He added that “the NFL has already made the onside kick meaningless by making it so teams have to declare to their opponents that they intend to try it. There were 42 onside kick attempts in 2024, and only three of them were successful.”
So, Payton notes that “it’s just a useless strategy.” Also, it’s worth mentioning that the Detroit Lions did “two of those attempts” in the 2024 season “and were unsuccessful on both.” However, the Lions, of course, were successful at going for it on fourth down. It’s kind of the trademark of Campbell’s coaching style to go for it on fourth, and it can be the team’s saving grace or downfall.
The NFL, according to NBC Sports, was reportedly considering a change. But, executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent said on a media call on Wednesday, March 26, that the NFL will not be make any change to the onside kick rule.
“There was a sense of you earn everything, every snap is important and some consider, you heard this from time to time, (the idea is too) gimmicky, this is not (for the) National Football League,” Vincent said, per Payton. “The clubs weren’t open to proposing that fourth-and-17, that model that we’ve seen over the previous years.”
New Rules the NFL Could Implement
One of the things the NFL may do for the upcoming season is make penalties for certain actions, such as “violent and obscene gestures,” harsher. During the Wednesday call, Vincent talked about how the league is planning to handle taunting penalties, as well as those for violent and obscene gestures.
While no team is safe from such calls, Payton notes in a separate feature that Lions star Jameson Williams was fined twice during the 2024 season for a total of $45,022 for celebrations that were seen as taunting or unsportsmanlike.
“Vincent did not go into detail on any instances, and he did not name any names,” Payton stated. “He also did not go into any detail on the league’s plans to educate their players on what type of celebrations will or won’t be tolerated or what the league plans to do about it in terms of fines or increased penalty yardage.”
Anne Erickson Anne Erickson is an award-winning reporter covering the NFL and college football for Heavy.com. Erickson has years of experience covering the NFL and additional sports, and her work has been published via ESPN, Fox Sports and more. She has interviewed some of the biggest names in sports, including Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff. Erickson also hosts several podcasts and is a Detroit-based radio host. More about Anne Erickson
