Collaros, O'Shea approve of CFL rules adjustments

Winnipeg Free Press

16-05-2025

Egregious roughing the passer penalties will come with a hefty penalty this season.
The Canadian Football League took another step toward trying to protect its most valuable players, the quarterbacks, by expanding the criteria for what qualifies as a Grade two roughing the passer penalty on Thursday.
Going forward, teams will receive a 25-yard penalty when a blow is delivered with the crown of the helmet to the head or neck of the passer, despite having a clear view to contact, and there are no mitigating circumstances (i.e. if the level of the quarterback's helmet changes prior to contact); a blow is delivered to the knee or below of the passer, despite having a clear view to contact, and there are no mitigating circumstances (i.e. if contact with another player(s) alters what would otherwise be legal contact); a blow is egregiously late.
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Winnipeg Blue Bombers' quarterback Zach Collaros (left) said Thursday that the CFL rules tweaks should be a good deterrent for bad hits on defenceless players.
Blue Bombers quarterback Zach Collaros has been on the receiving end of several hits in recent years that would fall under the new rules, most recently when he was knocked out of last year's Labour Day Classic after the Saskatchewan Roughriders defensive lineman Miles Brown delivered a shoulder-check to the head well after he had released the ball.
'The quarterback a lot of times, like other positions as well, they're in a defenceless position a lot of times. So, protecting the quarterback, I think it's paramount. I think it's good for the league when all the guys are healthy. So those things matter,' said Collaros.
'The 25-yard thing, I think it should be a good deterrent, if that guy's a team player. I don't know how much it'll hurt your pocket, if that rule changed at all, but yeah, you never want to put your team in a bad position. And a 25-yard penalty is just asking for a field goal or a touchdown to be scored, right? It's created an explosive right there in that, so hopefully it's a deterrent.'
The modified roughing the passer penalty was one of six rule changes the league announced will come into effect this season.
The list of actions that lead to automatic ejections was expanded to include all low block penalties on kicking plays and punching actions (open or closed hand) to the head area.
There will also be a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down awarded when a blow is delivered at or below the knees of a receiver who is in the act of catching a pass, while in a vulnerable position. The penalty was created to deter low hits on receivers who are not in a position to adequately protect themselves. Should a receiver jump, they will lose low hit protection.
Once an eligible receiver touches a pass, all players on both teams become eligible to catch the pass.
Changes to what is considered an offside pass. The following plays are no longer considered an offside pass:
– If a defending player prevents the ball from going out of bounds, knocks it down or bats it back into the playing area in an offside direction.
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Winnipeg Blue Bombers' head coach Mike O'Shea said Thursday that the increased penalties should help make player safety awareness a priority.
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– Batting a loose ball in any direction following a fumble, a blocked kick, a wild snap, a lateral pass or a kicked ball.
Finally, major penalties will no longer be restricted inside the defence's 20-yard line. Previously, a major penalty that occurred inside the 20-yard line would result in the ball advancing half the distance to the goal line. Now, the total distance of the penalty yardage will be applied, to a maximum of the one-yard line.
'Player safety is always an issue,' said head coach Mike O'Shea, who is on the league's rules committee. 'Some increased penalties to keep the awareness high in terms of making sure we keep players safe, those are always big ones and very easy ones to pass.
'The no more half-the-distance to the goal line on defensive major penalties in tight… that obviously should also clean up the game and keep players safe. So, those ones are very easy to agree upon, and they move quickly.'
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Joshua Frey-SamReporter
Josh Frey-Sam reports on sports and business at the Free Press. Josh got his start at the paper in 2022, just weeks after graduating from the Creative Communications program at Red River College. He reports primarily on amateur teams and athletes in sports. Read more about Josh.
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