NFL Proposes Changes To Controversial Catch Rule Complicated By Replay

This apparent TD catch by the Steelers' Jesse James late in an eventual loss to the Patriots on December 17, 2017 was overruled on replay review but would be a catch under the proposed rule change. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images)

The NFL is set to revise its controversial catch rule, reportedly eliminating passages that led to a series of disputed incompletions upon video replay review.

The proposed changes — described by NFL executive vice president of football operations Troy Vincent in an interview with the Washington Post — would include removal of the standards that a football can’t shift at all in a receiver’s hands (only demonstrated control would be necessary) and that a receiver…