Final season the San Francisco 49ers misplaced each Brock Purdy and Josh Johnson within the NFC Championship sport, resulting in operating again Christian McCaffrey taking some snaps at quarterback.
It’s a scenario the league doesn’t need to see repeated.
That led to the league instituting a brand new “emergency quarterback” rule for the upcoming season. Here’s what you should know.
First up, groups can now designate an “emergency quarterback” on sport days. That participant should formally be listed on the roster as a quarterback — avoiding a state of affairs the place groups attempt to circumvent the rule by designating a non-QB because the emergency quarterback and shopping for in essence a further roster spot.
The designation have to be made on the pregame report on the day of the sport.
Below these guidelines, the emergency QB have to be a “bona fide quarterback,” outlined as follows: The participant designated because the emergency quarterback should put on a quantity licensed for the place (once more a nod in direction of groups attempting to bypass the rule) and be both an “established quarterback,” — a participant who has “customarily” performed the place in previous school or skilled seasons — or a participant who has taken snaps solely at quarterback for at the very least three “consecutive” weeks of follow throughout the common season. These three weeks can embody weeks the place the participant was designated because the emergency QB.
Groups can solely designate an emergency quarterback if they’ve two different quarterbacks on the lively sport day roster.
The designation can solely apply to QBs on a 53-man roster. Follow squad quarterbacks should not eligible to be an emergency quarterback. This rule once more seeks to stop groups from circumventing the rule and shopping for a further roster spot. In keeping with this piece from NBC Sports activities Boston, the New England Patriots have been attempting to use this loophole with Matt Corral and Bailey Zappe, resulting in a clarification from the league.
Throughout video games, a staff can activate the emergency quarterback if the 2 lively quarterbacks can not play as a result of harm or ejection. Benching one of many lively quarterbacks doesn’t permit a staff to place the emergency quarterback into the sport. Ought to one of many lively quarterbacks later be cleared to return to motion, the emergency QB have to be eliminated and might solely return to the sport with one other harm or a later ejection. The participant designated because the emergency quarterback can take part in pregame warmups.
If a staff has three or extra quarterbacks designated on their lively sport day listing, then an emergency QB can’t be designated. On this scenario, a non-quarterback can nonetheless play quarterback, offered they’re listed on the lively sport day roster.
Tools failures should not an impetus for utilizing the emergency quarterback. Groups are required to make use of a timeout, or use one other lively participant, in that scenario. As well as, trick performs should not a purpose for utilizing an emergency quarterback, and this Q&A from the NFL relating to the rule particularly states that the staff isn’t allowed to make use of the emergency quarterback in “Wildcat” formations.
As soon as an emergency QB has been put into the lineup, solely they’ll take snaps. They’re allowed to fast kick, however can not punt or kick on particular groups.
When coming into or reentering the sport, the emergency QB should report back to the referee, at which level the referee will verify with the staff that the opposite two quarterbacks are unable to play as a result of harm and/or ejection.
The emergency quarterback can have a radio in his helmet, offered he’s designated by the staff as one of many three offensive gamers designated to have helmet radios. Below NFL guidelines a staff can designate three offensive gamers to make use of Coach-to-Participant (C2P) communication gadgets. If the staff doesn’t designate the emergency quarterback as one of many C2P gamers, then ought to that participant must enter the sport, the teaching workers should talk with them through hand alerts or one other means, and never a helmet radio.
The penalty for a violation of any of the brand new guidelines relating to emergency quarterbacks is an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.
