2016 NFL season

Player movements and retirements

Free agency

• Quarterbacks Robert Griffin III and Brock Osweiler
• Running backs Matt Forte, Chris Ivory Lamar Miller, and Alfred Morris
• Wide receivers Travis Benjamin, Marvin Jones, Rishard Matthews, and Mohamed Sanu
• Tight ends Coby Fleener and Benjamin Watson
• Offensive linemen Alex Boone, Alex Mack, Russell Okung, Kelechi Osemele, Mitchell Schwartz, Donald Stephenson,
• Defensive linemen Damon Harrison Malik Jackson, Brandon Mebane, and Olivier Vernon
• Linebackers Demario Davis, Bruce Irvin, and Danny Trevathan
• Defensive backs Prince Amukamara, Tashaun Gipson, Casey Hayward, Janoris Jenkins, Rodney McLeod, Josh Norman, Sean Smith, and Eric Weddle

Trades

• March 9: Philadelphia traded CB Byron Maxwell, LB Kiko Alonso, and a 2016 first round pick to Miami in exchange for a 2016 first round draft pick.
• March 9: Philadelphia traded RB DeMarco Murray along with a 2016 fourth round pick to Tennessee in exchange for a 2016 fourth round pick.
• March 11: Philadelphia traded QB Mark Sanchez to Denver in exchange for a conditional 2017 seventh-round draft pick.
• March 15: New England traded DE Chandler Jones to Arizona in exchange for G Jonathan Cooper and a 2016 second round pick.
• March 16: [2016 2016 Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears season|Chicago] traded TE Martellus Bennett along with a 2016 sixth round pick to New England in exchange for a 2016 fourth round pick.
• April 9: Denver traded OT Ryan Clady and a 2016 seventh round pick to the New York Jets in exchange for a 2016 fifth round pick.
• August 16: Tennessee traded WR Dorial Green-Beckham to Philadelphia in exchange for G Dennis Kelly.
• September 3: Philadelphia traded QB Sam Bradford to [2016 2016 Minnesota Vikings season|Minnesota Vikings season|Minnesota] for a 2017 first round pick and conditional 2018 fourth round pick.
• October 31: the New England traded LB Jamie Collins, Sr. to Cleveland for a conditional 2017 third round pick.

Notable retirements

• DE Jared Allen – Five-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro. Played for Kansas City, Minnesota, Chicago, and Carolina during his 12-year career.
• RB Arian Foster – Four-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro. Played for Houston and Miami during his eight-year career.
• WR Calvin Johnson – Six-time Pro Bowler and four-time All-Pro. Played for Detroit during his entire nine-year career.
• RB Marshawn Lynch – Five-time Pro Bowler, two-time All-Pro, and Super Bowl XLVIII champion. Played for Buffalo and Seattle during his nine-year career. Prior to the season, Lynch came out of retirement, signing with Oakland.
• G Logan Mankins - Seven-time Pro Bowler and six-time All-Pro. Played for New England and Tampa Bay during his 11-year career.
• QB Peyton Manning – Fourteen-time Pro Bowler, 10-time All-Pro, first overall selection in the 1998 NFL draft, five-time NFL MVP, two-time Offensive Player of the Year, two-time Super Bowl champion, Super Bowl XLI MVP, 2005 Walter Payton Man of the Year, and 2012 Comeback Player of the year. Played for the Indianapolis and Denver during his 18-year career.
• S Charles Woodson – Nine-time Pro Bowler, eight-time All-Pro, Defensive Player of the Year, and Super Bowl XLV champion. Played for Oakland and Green Bay during his 18-year career.

Others

• Husain Abdullah
• Jon Beason
• Chris Clemons
• Darnell Dockett
• D'Brickashaw Ferguson
• Daniel Fells
• Matt Hasselbeck
• Greg Jennings
• Phil Loadholt
• Rashean Mathis
• Jerod Mayo
• Heath Miller
• Lance Moore
• Manny Ramirez
• Antrel Rolle
• A.J. Tarpley
• Walter Thurmond
• Charles Tillman
• Justin Tuck

Draft

Rule changes

• Allowing the offensive and defensive play callers on the coaching staffs to use the coach-to-player communication system regardless of whether they are on the field or in the coaches' booth.
• Permanently adopting the extra-point rules enacted in the 2015 NFL season. Extra point kicks will be from the 15 yard line, and defenses can return blocked PAT's, fumbles or interceptions on two-point tries for a two-point defensive conversion.
• Outlaw all chop blocks anywhere on the field. Previously, the chop block was legal when an offensive lineman chops a defensive player "while the defensive player is physically engaged above the waist by the blocking attempt of another offensive teammate".
• Expand the definition of a "horse-collar tackle" to include tackles where a player is grabbed by the jersey at or above the name plate and dragged to the ground.
• Making the act of calling time-out when not permitted to do so subject to a delay-of-game penalty.
• Changing from a five-yard penalty to a loss of down when a receiver goes out of bounds and comes back in to illegally touch a forward pass.
• Eliminating multiple spots of enforcement for a double foul committed after a change of possession.
• The umpire will now line up in the offensive backfield directly across from the referee at all times in the game, ending the practice of the umpire moving behind the defensive line when the offense is inside the five-yard line or in the final 2:00 of the first half & the final 5:00 of the second half.

• Moving the touchback spot after kickoffs and other free kicks to the 25-yard line, similar to the NCAA rule adopted in the 2012 season. The goal for this rule change is to decrease the number of kickoff returns: kick returners may be more reluctant to bring the ball out from the end zone because of the greater risk of being tackled before reaching the 25-yard line. NFL officials concede that this may in fact increase kickoff returns because kickers may instead attempt to pin returners inside the 10-yard line. This rule was made permanent in 2018.
• Players committing two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the same game will be automatically ejected from the game. This was in response to New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. committing three personal fouls in one game against the Carolina Panthers cornerback Josh Norman without being ejected. This change is being referred to as the "Odell Beckham Rule". NFL officials, however, clarify that this new rule would not have ejected Beckham since he committed personal fouls and not unsportsmanlike conduct penalties.

• Refining what is a reviewable play, including the following:
• *Plays involving possession.
• *Plays involving touching of either the ball or the ground.
• *Plays governed by the goal line.
• *Plays governed by the boundary lines.
• *Plays governed by the line of scrimmage.
• *Plays governed by the line to gain.
• *Number of players on the field at the snap.
• *Game administration

• Banning players from wearing hoodies under their uniform shirts. This was adopted in response to Green Bay Packers wide receiver James Jones using that style in the 2015 season, which hid his name plate under the hood.
• Banning any coaches except for the head coach from entering the field of play, and then only to check on an injured player. This was in response to the incident involving Pittsburgh Steelers assistant coach Joey Porter and several Cincinnati Bengals players, especially Adam Jones, during the 2015–16 NFL playoffs.
• If the coin does not flip, during the pre-game or pre-OT toss, the Referee can re-toss the coin using the captain's original call.
• Practice squads can now have up to four players with two seasons of experience, an increase from the two players allowed the previous two years.
• Injury reports will no longer include the "probable" designation. The league had discouraged using the designation for anything beyond minor injuries after 2005, to the point where almost all of the players who were being listed as probable ultimately played. The "questionable" category will now be broadened to include any injury that could possibly prevent a player from entering the game, while the "doubtful" category will likewise be generalized to include any player who is more likely to not play than play. Prior to 2016, each designation represented the approximate odds of the player seeing any playing time: 75 percent for probable, 50 percent for questionable and 25 percent for doubtful.

2016 deaths

Regular season

• NFL Kickoff Game: The 2016 season began with the Kickoff Game on September 8. The 2015 champion Denver Broncos hosted and defeated the Carolina Panthers 21–20 in a rematch of Super Bowl 50, marking the first time since the Kickoff game was established that it was a rematch of the previous Super Bowl, and the first such meeting of both Super Bowl participants during the first week of the next season since the 1970 season. The Broncos debuted Trevor Siemian as their new starting quarterback; Siemian had been the Broncos' third-string quarterback and ascended to the starting position after Peyton Manning, their starting quarterback for the 2012 through 2015 seasons, retired following Super Bowl 50, and second-stringer Brock Osweiler left as a free agent for the Houston Texans.
• International Series: Four games were played internationally this season. Three of the games were played in London, England and the fourth was played in Mexico City, Mexico. The Jacksonville Jaguars played host to and defeated the [2016 2016 Indianapolis Colts season|Indianapolis Colts season|Indianapolis Colts] 30–27 on October 2 at Wembley Stadium, marking the fourth of at least eight consecutive years in which the Jaguars hosted a game in London. On October 23, in the first NFL game at Twickenham Stadium also in London, the Los Angeles Rams hosted and were defeated by the New York Giants 17–10. The Cincinnati Bengals played host to and tied with the Washington Redskins 27–27 on October 30 at Wembley Stadium in London. Finally, on Monday, November 21, the [2016 2016 Oakland Raiders season|Oakland Raiders season|Oakland Raiders] hosted and defeated the Houston Texans 27–20 at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, in the first Monday night game to be played outside of the United States and the second regular-season contest to be held in Mexico
• Thanksgiving Day games: As has been the case since 2006, three games were played on Thursday, November 24, 2016. The Detroit Lions hosted and defeated the Minnesota Vikings 16–13, the Dallas Cowboys hosted and defeated the Washington Redskins 31–26, and the evening game, the first Thanksgiving game to feature teams from the AFC since 2013, featured the Indianapolis Colts hosting and being defeated by the [2016 Pittsburgh Pittsburgh Steelers|Steelers season|Pittsburgh Steelers] 28–7.
• Christmas games: Christmas Day, December 25, fell on a Sunday in 2016. The Sunday afternoon games were moved to Saturday, Christmas Eve, and joined by a Thursday Night Special game between the Cincinnati Bengals and the Houston Texans; the Texans won 12–10. Two nationally televised games were played on Christmas Day; a late-afternoon Thursday Night Special game was played between the [2016 Baltimore Baltimore Ravens|Ravens season|Baltimore Ravens] and Pittsburgh Steelers; the Steelers won 31–27, while Sunday Night Football was played between the Denver Broncos and [2016 Kansas City Kansas City Chiefs|Chiefs season|Kansas City Chiefs]; the Chiefs won 33–10.

In-season scheduling changes

• Pro Football Hall of Fame Game: The 2016 edition of the preseason Hall of Fame Game, between Green Bay and Indianapolis, was canceled due to unsafe playing conditions at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio, caused by the use of improper paints applied to the field to create the Hall of Fame logo and other markings.Week 8: The Green Bay–Atlanta game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, was switched to 4:25 p.m. ET in place of the originally-scheduled Arizona–Carolina game, which was originally scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET.Week 12: The Kansas City–Denver game, originally scheduled for 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS, was flexed into the 8:30 p.m. ET slot on NBC's Sunday Night Football, in place of the originally-scheduled New England–New York Jets game, which was moved to 4:25 p.m. ET on CBS.Week 14: The New Orleans–Tampa Bay game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET, was switched to 4:25 p.m. ET, still on Fox. The Bears–Lions game was "cross-flexed" from Fox to CBS, still at 1:00 p.m. ET.Week 15: The Tampa Bay–Dallas game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was flexed into the 8:30 p.m. ET slot on NBC's Sunday Night Football, in place of the originally-scheduled Pittsburgh–Cincinnati game, which was moved to 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS.Week 16: The Tampa Bay–New Orleans game, originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was switched to 4:25 p.m. ET.Week 17: The Green Bay–Detroit game, which was originally scheduled for 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox, was selected for the final 8:30 p.m. NBC Sunday Night Football game, which for the second consecutive season decided the NFC North division champion. Also, the New Orleans–Atlanta game and the New York Giants–Washington game were moved from 1:00 p.m. ET to 4:25 p.m. ET, with both games still on Fox.

Postseason

Notable events

Deflategate

National anthem protests

Records, milestones, and notable statistics

• Cam Newton scored his 44th career rushing touchdown, surpassing Steve Young for the most career rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in NFL history. Newton, who had scored a passing touchdown in the first quarter, also surpassed Young for the most career games with both a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown by a quarterback in NFL history, with 32.
• Drew Brees tied Peyton Manning for the most 400-yard passing games in a career by a quarterback.

• Frank Gore surpassed Marshall Faulk for 10th place on the NFL's all-time rushing yards list.
• Matt Ryan and Julio Jones became the first passer/receiver duo in NFL history with 500+ passing yards and 300+ receiving yards in a game.
• Matthew Stafford broke the NFL record previously held by Dan Marino for most passing yards in a player's first 100 games, with 27,174.

• Bill Belichick won his 250th career game. He became the fourth head coach to reach this mark joining Don Shula, George Halas and Tom Landry.

• Dak Prescott broke the NFL record for most consecutive pass attempts without an interception to start a career, a record previously held by Tom Brady with 162 passes. He ran his streak to 176 pass attempts before throwing his first interception.
• Tom Brady became the fourth player in NFL history to record 5,000 career pass completions, joining Brett Favre, Peyton Manning, and Drew Brees.
• Drew Brees set an NFL record for the most regular season 400-yard passing games in a career with 15. Brees also became the sixth player to record 50,000 passing yards with one team.

• Jay Ajayi became the fourth player in NFL history to rush for at least 200 yards in consecutive games, joining O. J. Simpson, Earl Campbell and Ricky Williams.
• Adam Vinatieri set a new NFL record for most consecutive regular season field-goals made with 43, breaking the record that was held by Mike Vanderjagt. His streak ended at 44 after a miss in Week 11.
• Matt Ryan set an NFL record for the most consecutive games with at least 200 passing yards, with 46.

• The Washington–Cincinnati game ended in a 27–27 tie. It was the first time an International Series game had ended in a tie. It also was the first time since 1997 where two games ended in a tie in the same season.
• The [2016 Oakland Oakland Raiders|Raiders season|Oakland Raiders] were penalized 23 times for 200 yards, setting a new NFL record for the most penalties against a team in a single game.

• The San Francisco 49ers set an NFL record for allowing an opponent's running back to run for 100 or more yards in seven consecutive games.

• Stefon Diggs became the first player in NFL history to have at least 13 catches in consecutive games.
• For the first time in NFL history, two different games on the same day, the Dallas–Pittsburgh matchup and the Seattle–New England matchup, involved at least seven different lead changes.

• A single-day record twelve point after touchdown attempts were missed, including three in domed stadiums.
• The Dallas Cowboys gained 417 total net yards, marking the team's eighth consecutive game with at least 400 yards, tied for the longest single-season streak in NFL history.
• Steve Smith Sr. reached 1,000 catches, becoming the 14th player in NFL history to reach this mark.

• Tom Brady joined Peyton Manning as the second starting quarterback in NFL history to record 200 combined regular season and postseason wins. The Patriots' victory made them the first former American Football League franchise to record 500 all-time victories, including playoffs. Brady also became only the fifth quarterback to record 60,000 regular season passing yards, joining Peyton Manning, Brett Favre, Drew Brees and Dan Marino.

• Tom Brady broke Peyton Manning's record of most career wins by a quarterback in NFL history with his 201st win.
• Larry Fitzgerald became the youngest player in NFL history to reach 1,100 career catches.

• Matthew Stafford recorded his eighth fourth quarter comeback win of the season, surpassing the previous record held by Peyton Manning, who led the Indianapolis Colts to seven fourth quarter comeback wins during the 2009 season.
• Anquan Boldin moved past Andre Johnson for tenth on the NFL's all-time receptions list.

• The New England Patriots clinched their eighth consecutive AFC East title. They surpassed the Los Angeles Rams, who won the NFC West division title every year from 1973 to 1979, for the most consecutive division titles won by any franchise in NFL history.

• The Pittsburgh Steelers recorded the 600th regular-season victory in franchise history, joining the Chicago Bears, Green Bay Packers, and New York Giants as the only teams in NFL history to reach this mark.
• Bill Belichick won his 200th career regular-season game as head coach of the New England Patriots. Belichick became the fifth coach to reach 200 regular-season wins with one team, joining George Halas, Don Shula, Tom Landry and Curly Lambeau.
• Matt Ryan threw a touchdown pass to his 13th different receiver of the season, an NFL record.

• Matthew Stafford surpassed 30,000 career passing yards in his 109th game, surpassing Dan Marino and Kurt Warner for the fastest quarterback to reach that mark.
• Sam Bradford achieved a 71.6 completion percentage, surpassing Drew Brees for the record for highest completion percentage in a season.

Postseason

• The Patriots advanced to their sixth consecutive AFC Championship Game, surpassing the 1973–1977 Oakland Raiders for the most consecutive appearances in a conference championship game in history.
• Chris Boswell made a postseason record six field goals.
• Dak Prescott became the first rookie to throw three touchdown passes in a postseason game in the Super Bowl era.
• Dion Lewis became the first player in NFL history to score a rushing, receiving and kickoff return touchdown in a playoff game.

• Super Bowl LI marked an NFL record seventh Super Bowl appearance for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick as a QB-head coach duo.
• Super Bowl LI also marked the New England Patriots' ninth Super Bowl appearance, breaking a record shared with the Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos, and Pittsburgh Steelers.
• The Patriots accumulated 37 first downs in the game, an NFL postseason record.
• Tom Brady's 43 pass completions, 62 pass attempts, and 466 passing yards all set new single game Super Bowl records.
• For the first time in NFL history, the Super Bowl went into overtime.
• After trailing 28–3, the Patriots won the game, 34–28, completing the largest comeback win in both team history and Super Bowl history.
• The Atlanta Falcons became the first losing team in Super Bowl history to return an interception for a touchdown; teams returning an interception for a touchdown in the Super Bowl had been a perfect 12–0.

Awards

Individual season awards

All-Pro team

Players of the week/month

Stadiums

Atlanta Falcons

Minnesota Vikings

Relocation of the Rams from St. Louis to Los Angeles

Rams bid for Los Angeles

Raiders and Chargers failed stadium bid

Naming rights agreements

Buffalo Bills

Miami Dolphins

Oakland Raiders

Field surface changes

Baltimore Ravens

New uniforms and patches

• The San Francisco 49ers wore a patch to commemorate their 70th season.
• The New Orleans Saints wore a patch to commemorate their 50th season.
• The New York Giants wore white pants instead of gray for their primary home jerseys.
• The Los Angeles Rams joined the handful of teams that primarily wear their white jerseys at home. The change comes as a nod to the team's Fearsome Foursome era and to accommodate the warmer climate of Los Angeles. The uniform itself will remain the same as it was in the last years in St. Louis.
• The Miami Dolphins wore aqua for some of their home games in 2016 that include daytime.
• The Pittsburgh Steelers retired their 1934 throwback uniforms after the 2016 season. The Steelers wore them for the last time on October 9, 2016, against the New York Jets.
• The Atlanta Falcons wore 1966 throwback uniforms against the San Diego Chargers and San Francisco 49ers. The throwback uniforms are an altered version of the ones used from 2009 to 2012.
• The Washington Redskins wore burgundy pants with their white jerseys for the first time in five years, and temporarily place gray facemasks on their helmets when wearing the 1937 throwback uniforms.

Media

Broadcast rights

Flexible scheduling

''Thursday Night Football''

Internet streaming for International Series

Personnel changes

Television viewers and ratings

Most watched regular season games

• DH = doubleheader; SNF = NBC Sunday Night Football