Takeaways from NFL's annual league meeting: Updates on Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, 'Tush Push,' and more

The NFL never sleeps, and this week is certainly a reminder of that. The NFL's annual league meeting, sandwiched between the start of free agency and the NFL Draft, has become a treasure trove for information regarding teams, players and changes to the league's rulebook for the upcoming season. 

It may take place in Palm Beach, Florida, but it's anything but a vacation for the league's owners, coaches and the assembled media members. While there may be some time to relax, the week is largely about the upcoming 2025 season and the changes that may lie ahead. 

This year's league meeting is extremely important as many topics, both team and league-based, will be discussed and hashed out over the coming days. Specifically, the future of quarterback Aaron Rodgers, the controversial "Tush Push" play and possible changes to the kickoff and overtime are huge storylines that may come to a conclusion this week. 

Below are the biggest takeaways from the start of the NFL's annual league meeting, starting with the 41-year-old quarterback whose future continues to be up in the air. 

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What's next for Aaron Rodgers? 

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin confirmed that the team "had a really productive day" during their recent meeting with Rodgers but added that he doesn't have a deadline for Rodgers to make a decision on his future after his two-year stint with the Jets. 

Shortly after Tomlin's comments were made, video surfaced of Rodgers working out with recently-acquired Steelers wideout DK Metcalf at UCLA over the weekend. Based on Tomlin's comments and the video of Rodgers and Metcalf working together, it appears that the future Hall of Fame quarterback is leaning toward signing with Pittsburgh. But until that happens, we will continue to wonder and speculate on this situation. 

'Tush Push' update 

The future of the Philadelphia Eagles' banner play has been a hot-button topic for some time now, and it has been at the forefront of discussions in Florida. Owners will vote to either eliminate, make changes or keep the play the same this week. Any rule change requires at least 75% of the vote. 

Concern for player safety has been the party line when coaches have been asked about play from the league meeting. Reports have surfaced stating that there is support in regard to possibly banning the controversial play. Buffalo's Sean McDermott, Kansas City's Andy Reid and Pittsburgh's Tomlin were among the head coaches who cited health as the main question regarding the play. Tomlin added that he is excited to discuss the play with his peers. 

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said that he supports the proposal to ban the play while citing player safety. This is hardly a surprise, as the Packers are reportedly the team that issued the proposal to have the play banned. 

As expected, Eagles coach Nick Sirianni wants the play to live on, and he expects former Philadelphia assistant coaches and current NFL head coaches Jonathan Gannon, Shane Steichen and Kellen Moore to have his back.

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Momentum building for 18-game regular season

While it won't happen in 2025, it appears more and more inevitable that the NFL will increase the regular season from 17 to 18 games in the somewhat near future, according to CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones. Conversations about extending the regular season have been had between NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and NFL Players Association executive director Lloyd Howell, per Jones. 

Adding an extra game to the schedule must be collectively bargained, and while the current agreement runs through the 2030 season, an extra game could be added before that. 

If an extra game is added to the regular season slate, Week 1 would likely take place on Labor Day weekend with a second bye week added and the Super Bowl played on the Sunday before Presidents Day. The preseason would also likely be decreased from three to two games.

Thursday night flex reportedly approved 

NFL owners reportedly passed a resolution that will allow the league to flex Sunday games to Thursday night with 21 days notice during Weeks 13 through 17. Only one game was flexed the past two seasons via a temporary resolution that allowed one with 28 days notice. The first ever Thursday night flex was last year's Week 16 Chargers-Broncos showdown that replaced Bengals-Browns. 

No team will be required to flex to a Thursday night game more than once. The maximum number of Thursday night games is still two per team. 

Uniform policy change 

Broncos president Damani Leech announced a new NFL policy that allows teams to wear their alternate or throwback uniforms four times across 17 games. Teams were previously allowed to wear that uniform three times in a season. 

This is especially welcomed news for the Broncos, who received rave reviews for their 1977 throwback uniforms that were worn for the first time last season. Denver was 2-0 in those uniforms in 2024 and All-Pro cornerback Patrick Surtain II's 100-yard pick-six came with him wearing the throwback uniform. 

Big votes upcoming 

Along with the Thursday night flex, other big rules that will be voted on this week include: 

• Touchbacks moved out to the 35-yard line on kickoffs. A touchback brought the ball out to the 30-yard line in 2024, so this proposal is clearly based on incentivizing teams more to kick the ball in play as opposed to kicking it in the end zone and settling for a touchback. 
• Proposal to change the playoff format. Due to the Vikings going 14-3 and starting the 2024 playoffs on the road, a proposal has been made that -- if it passes -- would give a wild-card team a higher seed than a division winner if it has a better record. This proposal is not being supported by Tomlin. "I'm a division purist," Tomlin said. "I love the rivalries that is division play. I love the structure of our scheduling that highlights it. I think the division winners should get a home playoff game."
• Proposal to implement the same rules for postseason and regular-season overtime. This proposal would increase the regular season overtime from 10 to 15 minutes and guarantee that both teams get a possession. Currently, a touchdown by either team immediately ends an NFL regular-season overtime game.  

Kirk Cousins, QB draft news 

The Titans, Browns and Giants -- who respectively own the first three picks in the 2025 NFL Draft -- have not ruled out selecting a quarterback with said picks. The Titans are expected to select former Miami quarterback Cam Ward, but the team's brass has publicly stated several times that they are keeping their options open. The Giants and Browns are also still considering drafting a quarterback despite recently acquiring veterans Russell Wilson and Kenny Pickett, respectively. 

Assuming the Titans take Ward, the next two top quarterback prospects are widely thought to be Shedeur Sanders and Jaxson Dart. There's also the possibility that the Atlanta Falcons trade veteran Kirk Cousins, who was recently spotted in Cleveland. It's possible that Cousins could become this year's version of Russell Wilson, who signed a veteran's minimum salary with the Steelers last offseason after the Broncos agreed to release him while also paying him nearly $38 million to play for someone else. 

If there's a remote chance that Cousins plays elsewhere, such a move would likely not happen until after the draft when teams have a more clear idea of what their quarterback situations look like. The Browns, for example, could emerge as a legitimate option for Cousins if they don't draft a quarterback in the first round. For now, however, it appears that the Browns will go in a different direction this time after team owner Jimmy Haslam admitted this week that the team's last big veteran QB acquisition (Deshaun Watson in 2022) was "a big swing and miss."