Troy Vincent Says NFL Won't Change 'Philosophy Around' Roughing the Passer Calls

Fans and players hoping to see changes to the NFL's roughing the passer penalty are likely going to be upset by Troy Vincent's update following Tuesday's owner's meetings in New York.

Vincent, executive vice president of football operations for the NFL, told reporters the league is "not changing the philosophy" around the call.

"We are not going to back off protecting the quarterback," Vincent added.

In the wake of controversial roughing the passer penalties happening on back-to-back days last week, Rob Maadi of the Associated Press reported on Oct. 11 the flags would be a topic of discussion when the owners meet.

Maadi did note the league wasn't planning to make any changes. ESPN's Ed Werder added the NFL's competition committee was going to discuss roughing the passer after the 2022 season.

The competition committee is a 10-person group made up of six team owners/executives and four head coaches who often make most of the recommendations for rules changes. A proposed change requires approval from 24 of the league's 32 owners.

Atlanta Falcons defensive tackle Grady Jarrett was flagged for a 15-yard penalty for sacking Tom Brady on a third-down play late in the fourth quarter of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers' 21-15 win in Week 5.

Referee Jerome Boger told reporters after the game Jarret "unnecessarily" threw Brady to the ground to generate the penalty call. Brady was fined $11,139 by the NFL for kicking at Jarrett on the same play.

Kansas City Chiefs defensive tackle Chris Jones was called for roughing the passer in the second quarter of a 30-29 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Oct. 10. He ripped the ball out of Derek Carr's hand as he was sacking him, but officials ruled he landed on Carr with his full body weight.

The NFL's most recent significant change to roughing the passer came in 2018. That was when the league put an increased emphasis on the "body weight" rule that wound up being used against Jones.