The 2014 NFL season was the 95th season in the history of the National Football League (NFL) and the 49th of the Super Bowl era. The season began on Thursday, September 4, 2014, with the annual kickoff game featuring the defending Super Bowl XLVIII champion Seattle Seahawks hosting the Green Bay Packers, which resulted with the Seahawks winning. The season concluded with Super Bowl XLIX, the league's championship game, on Sunday, February 1, 2015, at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, with the New England Patriots defeating the Seahawks 28–24, in one of the closest games in Super Bowl history.
Some notable events of the season include every team losing at least 4 games, the Carolina Panthers going to the playoffs despite having a losing record, the NFC Championship Game where the Seahawks would make a comeback against the Packers, and Super Bowl XLIX where the Patriots would intercept the ball at the one yard line and win the game.
Player movement The 2014 league year began at 4 pm EST on March 11, which marked the start of the league's free agency period. The per-team salary cap was set at US$, a $10 million increase from the previous year. The so-called "legal tampering" period during which time agents representing prospective unrestricted free agent players (though not the players themselves) were allowed to have contact with team representatives with the purpose of determining a player's market value and to begin contract negotiations, began at noon (EST) on March 8.
Free agency A total of 471 players were eligible for some form of free agency at the beginning of the free agency period. In addition, a number of highly paid players were released after the start of the league year to allow their teams to regain space under the salary cap. Among the high-profile players who changed teams via free agency were:
Quarterbacks Josh McCown (Chicago to Tampa Bay), Mark Sanchez (New York Jets to Philadelphia) and Michael Vick (Philadelphia to New York Jets) Running backs LeGarrette Blount (New England to Pittsburgh), Donald Brown (Indianapolis to San Diego), Toby Gerhart (Minnesota to Jacksonville), Chris Johnson (Tennessee to New York Jets), Maurice Jones-Drew (Jacksonville to Oakland) and Ben Tate (Houston to Cleveland) Wide receivers Kenny Britt (Tennessee to St. Louis), Eric Decker (Denver to New York Jets), Devin Hester (Chicago to Atlanta), DeSean Jackson (Philadelphia to Washington), James Jones (Green Bay to Oakland), Hakeem Nicks (New York Giants to Indianapolis), Andre Roberts (Arizona to Washington), Emmanuel Sanders (Pittsburgh to Denver), Steve Smith (Carolina to Baltimore) and Golden Tate (Seattle to Detroit) Tight ends Owen Daniels (Houston to Baltimore) and Brandon Myers (New York Giants to Tampa Bay) Offensive tackles Branden Albert (Kansas City to Miami), Austin Howard (New York Jets to Oakland), Michael Oher (Baltimore to Tennessee) and Jared Veldheer (Oakland to Arizona) Guards Zane Beadles (Denver to Jacksonville), Shawn Lauvao (Cleveland to Washington) and Geoff Schwartz (Kansas City to New York Giants) Defensive tackles Jason Hatcher (Dallas to Washington), Arthur Jones (Baltimore to Indianapolis), Linval Joseph (New York Giants to Minnesota) and Paul Soliai (Miami to Atlanta) Defensive ends Jared Allen (Minnesota to Chicago), Lamarr Houston (Oakland to Chicago), Tyson Jackson (Kansas City to Atlanta), Michael Johnson (Cincinnati to Tampa Bay), Julius Peppers (Chicago to Green Bay), Antonio Smith (Houston to Oakland), Justin Tuck (New York Giants to Oakland), DeMarcus Ware (Dallas to Denver) and Willie Young (Detroit to Chicago) Linebackers Karlos Dansby (Arizona to Cleveland), D'Qwell Jackson (Cleveland to Indianapolis), Wesley Woodyard (Denver to Tennessee) and LaMarr Woodley (Pittsburgh to Oakland) Cornerbacks Brandon Flowers (Kansas City to San Diego), Corey Graham (Baltimore to Buffalo), Captain Munnerlyn (Carolina to Minnesota), Darrelle Revis (Tampa Bay to New England), Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie (Denver to New York Giants), Aqib Talib (New England to Denver) and Alterraun Verner (Tennessee to Tampa Bay) Safeties Antoine Bethea (Indianapolis to San Francisco), Jairus Byrd (Buffalo to New Orleans), T. J. Ward (Cleveland to Denver) and Donte Whitner (San Francisco to Cleveland)
Four players were assigned the non-exclusive franchise tag by their teams, which ensured that the team would receive compensation were the player to sign a contract with another team. These players were defensive end Greg Hardy (Panthers), tight end Jimmy Graham (Saints), placekicker Nick Folk (Jets) and linebacker Brian Orakpo (Redskins). Two other teams used the transition tag, which offers the player's current team a chance to match offers from other franchises and also guarantees draft pick compensation (at a lesser level than the franchise tag) if a tagged player signs elsewhere. Players given the transition tag were Jason Worilds (Steelers) and Alex Mack (Browns). Mack signed a five-year, $42 million offer sheet with the Jacksonville Jaguars which included $26 million in guaranteed money and a player option to void the contract after two seasons. The Browns matched the offer and retained Mack who became the league's highest paid center.
One restricted free agent switched teams in 2014: wide receiver Andrew Hawkins of the Bengals was signed by the Browns. Restricted free agents are players with three or fewer seasons in the league whose contracts have expired. Teams may tender contract offers which allow them to match offers from other teams (i.e. the player's current team gets "right of first refusal") and may trigger draft pick compensation to be received from the signing team. Hawkins was tendered at the minimum level, which means the Bengals would not receive any draft compensation. The Browns signed him to a $13.6 million, four-year offer, which the Bengals declined to match. Saints safety Rafael Bush signed an offer from the Falcons, but the Saints retained Bush by matching the offer.
Trades The following notable trades were made during the 2014 league year:
March 11: Miami traded OT Jonathan Martin to San Francisco for a conditional draft pick March 11: Jacksonville traded QB Blaine Gabbert to San Francisco for a sixth-round draft pick March 13: New Orleans traded RB Darren Sproles to Philadelphia for a fifth-round draft pick May 9: Buffalo traded WR Stevie Johnson to San Francisco for a fourth-round draft pick in 2015 May 10: Philadelphia traded RB Bryce Brown to Buffalo for a fourth-round draft pick in 2015 August 26: New England traded G Logan Mankins to Tampa Bay for a fourth-round draft pick in 2015 August 31: New England traded QB Ryan Mallett to Houston for a sixth-round draft pick in 2015 October 17: Seattle traded WR Percy Harvin to New York Jets for a sixth-round draft pick October 28: Tampa Bay traded LB Mark Barron to St. Louis for a fourth- and sixth-round picks in 2015
Draft
The 2014 NFL draft was held May 8–10, 2014, in New York City. The draft process began with the NFL Scouting Combine, where draft-eligible players were evaluated by team personnel, which was held in Indianapolis on February 19–25. The draft included a record number of 98 non-seniors. The event was delayed roughly two weeks compared to its traditional position on the NFL calendar in late April due to a scheduling conflict at Radio City Music Hall, which had been the draft venue since . In the draft, the Houston Texans made University of South Carolina defensive end, now outside linebacker Jadeveon Clowney the first overall selection.
There was discussion leading up to the draft as to the future of the event in New York City, where it had been held since . Given the increased interest in the draft over the past decade, there was a belief that the event may have outgrown Radio City Music Hall, which was the venue for the past nine drafts. The possibility of extending the draft to four days was also being discussed. On October 2, 2014, Auditorium Theatre in Chicago was announced as the official site for the following year's draft.
New referees Referees Scott Green and Ron Winter retired after the season. Ron Torbert, who spent the past four seasons as a side judge, and Craig Wrolstad, who spent the past 11 seasons as a field judge, were promoted to referee to replace Green and Winter. On June 25, 2014, the NFL announced Mike Carey's retirement as a referee. Like former director of officiating Mike Pereira for Fox Sports, Carey will become the rules/refereeing analyst for CBS's NFL coverage on the network's Thursday night and Sunday afternoon games. He was replaced by Brad Allen, who spent the past nine seasons as an ACC referee. He was the first rookie NFL referee since 1962 when Tommy Bell was hired as a referee straight out of the Southeastern Conference. (NFL officials normally spend at least their first season in another position than head referee.) In addition to promoting Allen, Torbert, and Wrolstad to the referee position, ten new officials were hired, including Shawn Hochuli, son of referee Ed Hochuli.
Rule changes The following rule changes were passed for the 2014 NFL season at the owners' meeting on March 26, 2014:Five rules changes pass as NFL owners vote at league meeting . Pro Football Talk. Retrieved March 26, 2014. Eliminating the referee's timeout after a sack (previously the clock did not stop for a sack only after the two-minute warning). Simplify spot of enforcement on defensive fouls committed behind the line of scrimmage to enforce from the previous spot instead of the end of the run or the spot of the foul. Raise the height of the goal post from 30 feet to 35 feet. The uprights had been 30 feet high since the 1974 NFL season. Extend the restriction on roll-up blocks to include such blocks from the side as well as from the back. "Dunking" the football through the goal post or crossbar (or any other means of using the goal post/crossbar as a prop in touchdown celebrations) is now considered unsportsmanlike conduct (15 yards). This rule was in response to New Orleans Saints tight end Jimmy Graham's tendency to dunk the football after scores. One of Graham's dunks bent the goal posts so much that the game was delayed several minutes in order for the stadium crew to make repairs. In addition, the aforementioned rule change to extend the goal posts will add extra weight, increasing the chances that it could collapse. This celebration was previously "grandfathered" as legal much like the Lambeau Leap. Expand replays to cover recovery of loose balls even if the play is blown dead. This was in response to San Francisco 49ers defensive player NaVorro Bowman's clear recovery of a loose ball and downing by contact in the 2013–14 NFL playoffs. The ball was given to the Seattle Seahawks after Seahawks running back Michael Robinson took it away from Bowman after Bowman was forced to let go of the ball due to a severe knee injury. Despite the indisputable video evidence of the recovery by Bowman, the play was not reviewable. Connecting the officiating command center to the field-to-booth communication relay, allowing the Referee to communicate with the command center during replay reviews. This was in response to some controversial replay reviews during the 2013 season, as well as league officials observing the NHL's command center. Unlike the NHL's replay system, however, NFL referees will still make the final decisions instead of the command center. Make on-field taunting and use of racial/sexual slurs subject to unsportsmanlike conduct penalties (15 yards).
The league has also instructed game officials to strictly enforce offensive pass interference, defensive holding, and illegal contact.