The CFL’s Rules Committee is recommending a number of changes designed to deter play that risks injury and emphasizes player safety, the league announced Thursday.

The recommendations include changes on blindside blocks, expanding the definition of spearing, eliminating low blocks by receivers, and making illegal contact no longer subject to coaches’ challenges.

“Our Commissioner and our Board of Governors have clearly mandated us to focus on promoting and protecting the health of our players,” CFL Senior Director of Officiating Darren Hackwood said in a league release.

“The Rules Committee has responded by recommending that the board approve several measures that would broaden or clarify rules designed to improve safety for players.”

The Rules Committee also suggested replay officials automatically review potential touchdowns, even if the play is marked down short of the goal line.

A rundown of some of the rule changes the Rules Committee has asked the Board of Governors to approve before the upcoming season:

  • Make it illegal for any player to deliver a forcible block on an opponent while moving back towards his own goal line, sometimes referred to as “blindside” blocks.
  • Outlaw low blocks that occur outside of the “tackle box”, an area that extends from tight end to tight end and from the quarterback or kicker to two yards beyond the line of scrimmage
  • Widen the definition of spearing to include any situation where a player delivers a blow with his helmet as the initial or primary point of contact. This does not apply to a low running ball carrier.
  • Eliminate a loophole in the “sleeper” play rule by making it illegal for a player who enters the game and remains outside the numbers to receive the ball in any manner including a kick or lateral.
  • Simplify the rule on what constitutes a quarterback making a legal pass behind the line of scrimmage by defining it as the passer having at least one of his feet on or behind the line of scrimmage instead of requiring that the release point of the ball be behind the line of scrimmage.
  • Eliminate the “force out” rule by requiring a receiver catching a ball to place at least one foot inbounds regardless of whether he was contacted in mid-air.
  • Increase the penalty for “pyramiding” – the practice of using another player to elevate one’s self in an effort to block a kick -- from five yards to ten yards to deter the behavior.