CFL adopting six minor rules adjustments for upcoming season

TORONTO - A modified roughing-the-passer penalty will be among six minor rules adjustments implemented by the CFL this season.

The league announced Thursday the modifications have been approved by the CFL's board of governors.

Among them is an enhanced grade 2 roughing the passer penalty.

The CFL has always had two grades of roughing the passer, covering 15 and 25 yards. Starting this year, the more serious grade 2 penalty will include hits delivered with the crown of the helmet to the head/neck of the passer, those to or below the knee or if contact is made egregiously late.

Mitigating circumstances, such as the passer changing position before the hit, will be taken into account when assessing the penalty.

"These rule tweaks stay true to the spirit of Canadian football, while reinforcing a thrilling product on the field — one that gets fans to stand up and cheer; one that draws viewers in from across North America and around the world,” CFL commissioner Stewart Johnston said in a statement. “As a league, our stance on rules remains focused on progress in terms of safety, entertainment, game-flow and innovation.”

Also, the criteria for automatic ejections has been expanded. The rough-play rule now includes all low blocking penalties on kicking plays in addition to punching actions (open or closed hand) to the head.

A 15-yard penalty and automatic first down will be called for blows delivered at or below the knees of a receiver who's in the act of catching a pass and in a vulnerable position. If the receiver jumps, he'll lose low-hit protection.

The other modifications include:

— Once an eligible receiver touches a pass, all players on both teams become eligible to catch it.

— A defending player moving the ball toward the "dead line" at the back of the opponent's end zone when preventing the ball from going out of bounds, knocking it down or batting it back into the area of play will no longer be considered an offside pass.

Batting a loose ball in any direction following a fumble, blocked kick, wild snap, lateral pass or kicked ball, will also not result in an offside pass.

 — The restriction when applying the maximum distance on all major penalties, misconducts and rough-play disqualifications will be removed. The total distance of the penalty yardage will be applied to a maximum of the one-yard line.

For example, play commences at the 20-yard line and a defending team is assessed a 25-yard roughing the passer penalty. Rather than being penalized half the distance to the goal, the full distance will be applied to a maximum of the one-yard line, where in this instance the following play would commence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 15, 2025.