catch

Will NFL ever catch players who place their bets through others?

by

If players have learned anything in recent months, it’s that any bets they place on their own phones could come back to haunt them. The next step in the league’s effort to detect gambling-policy violations will become harder for the NFL to prove. When players use their phones to bet, those phones inevitably can betray … Read more

NFL tweaks fair catch KO rule, eyes fewer injuries

by

Kevin Seifert, ESPN Staff WriterMay 23, 2023, 12:46 PM ET Close ESPN.com national NFL writer ESPN.com NFC North reporter, 2008-2013 Covered Vikings for Minneapolis Star Tribune, 1999-2008 EAGAN, Minn. — NFL owners took what might be their final step Tuesday toward decreasing injuries on kickoffs before considering a more dramatic set of changes, approving a … Read more

NFL expects fewer kickoff returns with new fair catch rule inside 25

by

The NFL has pushed the kickoff return further toward irrelevance with a priority on player safety. The existence of the kickoff itself remains under careful review. League owners voted Tuesday for a one-year trial of an enhanced touchback rule that will give the receiving team the ball at its own 25 with a fair catch … Read more