BOCA RATON, Fla. — The chop block has been entirely outlawed from NFL games, and extra-point kicks snapped from the 15-yard line are now permanent.

NFL owners voted Tuesday to approve both those proposals by the competition committee. They also passed a resolution to expand what is a horse-collar tackle to cover the nameplate on the back of jerseys.

In all, seven rule proposals were approved. The others involved coach-to-player communications from the sideline as well as the press box; adding a delay-of-game penalty to a team that calls a timeout when it has none remaining; removing a 5-yard penalty for a receiver illegally touching a pass after being out of bounds; and eliminating multiple spots of enforcement for a double foul after a change of possession.

The chop block, in which a player blocks an opponent low while the opponent is engaged high with another player, had become more limited in the league because of various rule changes. Now, all forms of it have been banned, with violators drawing a 15-yard penalty.

The competition committee felt it was a dangerous play. Some NFL coaches believe eliminating the chop block will affect the ground game.

“It definitely changes some things,” Broncos Coach Gary Kubiak said. “That definitely changes some of your teachings of your techniques. … The change would be in the box. We’ll see how it goes.”

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The extra point snaps from the 15 were an experiment for 2015 that worked so well that making it permanent was a given. Efficiency on extra points from the 33-yard-line or so dropped from more than 99 percent to just over 94 percent.

COWBOYS: Now that Johnny Manziel is a free agent – he was released March 11 after two disappointing and controversy-filled years in Cleveland – Dallas owner Jerry Jones is finally free to expound on the former Heisman Trophy winner.

And Jones says he is filled with sympathy and disappointment over Manziel’s inability to get his life in order.

But Jones can’t fathom the thought of Manziel, the former Texas A&M quarterback, joining the Cowboys or any team in the NFL until he addresses his off-the-field issues.

“The overwhelming response and the overwhelming mentality is for him to, if we’re involved in any way, to help and encourage him to get it together, to get his issue improved because those issues, in my mind, not talent, are why he is free today,” Jones said.

Manziel was released by the Browns because of a pattern of irresponsibility and recklessness that has now escalated into a criminal investigation for domestic violence.

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 Defensive end Benson Mayowa can join Dallas after the Raiders decided not to match an offer sheet for the restricted free agent.

The Cowboys last week signed Mayowa to a three-year deal worth more than $8 million, a deal Oakland could have matched to keep him.

 The Cowboys agreed to terms on a two-year deal with Alfred Morris, a four-year starter with NFC East Division-rival Washington.

Morris racked up 4,713 yards rushing and 29 touchdowns in 64 games.

49ERS: San Francisco signed Zane Beadles to a three-year contract after he was released March 3 by Jacksonville in a move to create salary cap space.

Beadles has started all 16 games in each of the past five seasons – the last two with Jacksonville after he spent his first four seasons with Denver.

CHIEFS: Pro Bowl pass rusher Justin Houston could miss the upcoming season for Kansas City after having surgery to repair the ACL in his left knee that bothered him in the playoffs.


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