2023 NFL season

Player movement

Free agency

• Quarterbacks Jacoby Brissett, Derek Carr, Andy Dalton, Jimmy Garoppolo, Taylor Heinicke, and Baker Mayfield
• Running backs Dalvin Cook, Ezekiel Elliott, Melvin Gordon, Damien Harris, David Montgomery, Latavius Murray, Miles Sanders, Devin Singletary, and Jamaal Williams
• Wide receivers Nelson Agholor, Odell Beckham Jr., D. J. Chark, DeAndre Hopkins, Allen Lazard, Jakobi Meyers, JuJu Smith-Schuster, Adam Thielen, and Robert Woods
• Tight ends Mike Gesicki, Austin Hooper, Hayden Hurst, Dalton Schultz, and Robert Tonyan
• Offensive linemen Orlando Brown Jr., Nate Davis, Mike McGlinchey, Connor McGovern, Ben Powers, Donovan Smith, Jawaan Taylor, and Andrew Wylie
• Defensive linemen Zach Allen, Calais Campbell, Marcus Davenport, Javon Hargrave, Dre'Mont Jones, Yannick Ngakoue, David Onyemata, and Dalvin Tomlinson
• Linebackers Frank Clark, Tremaine Edmunds, T. J. Edwards, Leonard Floyd, Eric Kendricks, and Bobby Wagner
• Defensive backs Adrian Amos, Jessie Bates, C. J. Gardner-Johnson, Byron Murphy, Marcus Peters, Patrick Peterson, Cameron Sutton, Juan Thornhill, and Jimmie Ward
• Kickers Matt Gay and Brandon McManus
• Punters Jake Bailey and Riley Dixon

Trades

• March 15: The Los Angeles Rams traded CB Jalen Ramsey to Miami in exchange for TE Hunter Long and a 2023 third-round selection.
• March 15: Indianapolis traded CB Stephon Gilmore to Dallas in exchange for a 2023 fifth-round selection.
• March 15: Las Vegas traded TE Darren Waller to the New York Giants in exchange for a 2023 third-round selection.
• March 15: Carolina traded WR D. J. Moore, 2023 first and second-round selections, a 2024 first-round selection, and a 2025 second-round selection to Chicago in exchange for a 2023 first-round selection.
• March 22: The New York Jets traded WR Elijah Moore and a 2023 third-round selection to Cleveland in exchange for a 2023 second-round selection.
• April 19: The Los Angeles Rams traded WR Allen Robinson and a 2023 seventh-round selection to Pittsburgh in exchange for a 2023 seventh-round selection.
• April 24: Green Bay traded QB Aaron Rodgers and 2023 first and fifth-round selections to the New York Jets in exchange for 2023 first, second, and sixth-round selections, and a conditional 2024 second-round selection.
• April 29: Detroit traded RB D'Andre Swift and a 2023 seventh-round selection to Philadelphia in exchange for 2023 seventh and 2025 fourth-round selections.
• May 16: Minnesota traded DE Za'Darius Smith along with 2025 sixth and seventh-round selections to Cleveland in exchange for 2024 and 2025 fifth-round selections.
• August 25: San Francisco traded QB Trey Lance to Dallas in exchange for a 2024 fourth-round selection.
• August 27: Cleveland traded OT Tyrone Wheatley Jr. to New England in exchange for RB Pierre Strong Jr.
• August 27: Pittsburgh traded G Kevin Dotson and 2024 fifth and 2025 sixth-round selections to the Los Angeles Rams in exchange for 2024 fourth and 2025 fifth-round selections.
• August 29: New Orleans traded K Wil Lutz to Denver in exchange for a 2024 seventh-round selection.
• August 29: New England traded K Nick Folk to Tennessee in exchange for a 2025 seventh-round selection.
• August 29: Miami traded CB Noah Igbinoghene to Dallas in exchange for CB Kelvin Joseph.
• October 4: The Los Angeles Chargers traded CB J. C. Jackson and a 2025 seventh-round selection to New England in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round selection.
• October 18: The New York Jets traded WR Mecole Hardman and a 2025 seventh-round selection to Kansas City in exchange for a 2025 sixth-round selection.
• October 23: Tennessee traded S Kevin Byard to Philadelphia in exchange for S Terrell Edmunds and 2024 fifth and sixth-round selections.
• October 30: The New York Giants traded DE Leonard Williams to Seattle in exchange for 2024 second and 2025 fifth-round selections.
• October 31: Washington traded DE Montez Sweat to Chicago in exchange for a 2024 second-round selection.
• October 31: Washington traded DE Chase Young to San Francisco in exchange for a 2024 third-round selection.
• October 31: Green Bay traded CB Rasul Douglas and a 2024 fifth-round selection to Buffalo in exchange for a 2024 third-round selection.

Retirements

• QB Tom Brady – Fifteen-time Pro Bowler, six-time All-Pro, seven-time Super Bowl champion, five-time Most Valuable Player Award|Super Bowl MVP], three-time NFL MVP, two-time Offensive Player of the Year Award|Offensive Player of the Year], and Comeback Player of the Year Award|2009 Comeback Player of the Year]. Played for New England and Tampa Bay during his 23-year career.
• WR A. J. Green – Seven-time Pro Bowler and two-time second-team All-Pro. Played for Cincinnati and Arizona during his 12-year career.
• DT Gerald McCoy – Six-time Pro Bowler and three-time All-Pro. Played for Tampa Bay, Carolina, and Las Vegas during his 12-year career.
• DE J. J. Watt – Five-time Pro Bowler, seven-time All-Pro, three-time Defensive Player of the Year Award|Defensive Player of the Year], and Walter Payton [NFL Man of the Year Award|2017 Walter Payton Man of the Year]. Played for Houston and Arizona during his 12-year career.

Draft

2023 deaths

Pro Football Hall of Fame members

Active personnel

• Norma Hunt, Kansas City Chiefs co-owner since 2006, widow of Chiefs and American Football League founder Lamar Hunt and mother of Chiefs chairman and CEO Clark Hunt. Won two Super Bowls as co-owner. She died on June 4, age 85.

Rule changes

• The jersey numbering system was modified to allow the number 0 to be worn by all positions previously allowed to wear single-digit numbers. Placekickers and punters are now allowed to wear numbers 0–49 and 90–99. Previously 0 was not permitted to be used after the jersey numbering system was standardized in and kickers and punters could only wear numbers 1–19.
• Timing rules were modified after a ruling on the field is reversed. If outside the two-minute warning, the play clock will be set to 40 seconds instead of 25. If inside the two minute warning and a 10-second runoff is used, the play clock would be set to 30 seconds.
• Plays resulting in a turnover on downs were added to the list of booth reviewable plays. Plays resulting in a successful first down are still challengeable outside of the two minute warning.
• Tripping was upgraded to a personal foul from its current 10 yard penalty, reverting a rule change from.
• Launching from one foot to attack an opponent became illegal, changing the current rule of both feet.
• Illegally handing the ball forward behind the line of scrimmage is now a loss of down, consistent with the same foul occurring beyond the line of scrimmage.
• All illegal kicks are now penalized the same as an illegal forward pass.
• If the offense commits a live-ball penalty and the defense commits a dead-ball penalty on the last play of either half, the period will not be extended for an untimed down.
• Language referring to "butt, ram, or spear" with the helmet was combined under the umbrella of "impermissible uses of the helmet" and clarified legal incidental contact.

• Teams will now be able to have a third quarterback available on game days without occupying a roster spot. The third quarterback will be available if the team's first two quarterbacks are either injured or disqualified. If one of the two regular quarterbacks return to the game, the third will return to the bench unless both quarterbacks are again unavailable for the same reasons.
• On kickoffs, a fair catch made at or behind the 25 yard line will be awarded at the 25 yard line, mirroring the college football rule adopted in 2018.

Preseason

Regular season

Changes to flexible scheduling rules

Scheduling changes

• The Detroit–Tampa Bay game was moved from 1:00 p.m. ET to 4:25 p.m. ET, remaining on Fox.

• The Denver–Houston Texans season|Houston] game was moved from 4:05 p.m. ET to 1:00 p.m. ET, trading time slots with the Carolina–Tampa Bay game; both games remaining on CBS.

• On November 30, the NFL announced that three games were moved to Saturday as part of an NFL Network tripleheader: 2023 [Minnesota Vikings season|Minnesota]–Cincinnati at 1:00 p.m. ET, Pittsburgh Steelers season|Pittsburgh]–Indianapolis at 4:30 p.m. ET, and Denver–Detroit at 8:15 p.m. ET. The two other games that the league had the option of scheduling on Saturday, Atlanta–Carolina and 2023 [Chicago Bears season|Chicago]–Cleveland, were both scheduled on Sunday afternoon.
• The Tampa Bay–Green Bay game, was cross-flexed from Fox to CBS, remaining at 1:00 p.m. ET.
• The Philadelphia–Seattle game, originally scheduled for Sunday at 4:25 p.m. on Fox, was flexed into Monday Night Football at 8:15 p.m. ET, replacing the originally scheduled Kansas City–New England game, which was moved to Sunday at 1:00 p.m. ET on Fox.

• All Week 18 games were initially listed with a kickoff time of "TBD" and the schedule was released on December 31 after the Sunday games of Week 17 was completed.

Postseason

Records, milestones, and notable statistics

• Tyreek Hill set the record for most games with at least 200 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns, with three. He shared the previous record of two with nine other players.

• Puka Nacua set the record for most receptions in a game by a rookie, with 15. The previous record of 14 was shared by four players.
• Nacua also became the first rookie to record at least ten catches and 100 receiving yards in each of his team's first two games of the season.
• Nacua also set the record for most receptions in a player's first two games of his career, with 25. The previous record of 19 was held by Earl Cooper.
• Travis Kelce passed Shannon Sharpe for fourth place in most receptions made by a tight end.
• C. J. Stroud set the Super Bowl Era record for most yards thrown by a rookie without an interception in his first two starts, with 626.
• Russell Wilson became the first player to reach 40,000 passing yards and 5,000 rushing yards.
• Wilson also became the third quarterback to reach 5,000 rushing yards, joining Michael Vick and Cam Newton.

• Matt Gay became the first player to kick four field goals of at least 50 yards in a game.
• Keenan Allen set the record for most receptions in a game by a player who also had a passing touchdown, with 18. The previous record of 12 was shared by Tarik Cohen and Jerry Rice.
• Patrick Mahomes became the fastest player to reach 25,000 passing yards, doing so in 83 games. The previous record of 90 games was held by Matthew Stafford.
• Jalen Hurts set the record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in his first 50 games, with 29. The previous record of 28 was held by Cam Newton.
• Sam LaPorta set the record for most receptions by a tight end in the first three games of his career, with 18. The previous record of 17 was held by Keith Jackson.
• LaPorta also became the first tight end to record at least five receptions in each of his first three career games.
• The Miami Dolphins became the third team to score 70 points in a game, joining the 1950 Los Angeles Rams and the 1966 [Washington Redskins season|1966 Washington Redskins].
• Miami became the second team to record 700 yards of offense in a game, joining the 1951 Los Angeles Rams.
• Miami became the first team to record five rushing touchdowns and five passing touchdowns in the same game.

• C. J. Stroud became the first player to have at least 1,200 passing yards and no interceptions in the first four games of his career.
• Khalil Mack tied the record for most career games with at least five sacks, with two. He shares the record with Derrick Thomas.
• Puka Nacua set the record for most receptions in a player's first four games of his career, with 39. The previous record of 30 was held by Anquan Boldin.
• Nacua also set the record for most receiving yards in a player's first four games of his career, with 501.
• Nacua also became the second player with at least 100 receiving yards in three of his first four career games, joining Harlon Hill.
• Andy Reid became the fourth head coach to win 250 career regular season games, joining Tom Landry, Bill Belichick, George Halas and Don Shula.

• C. J. Stroud set the record for most pass attempts without an interception to start his career, ultimately with 191. The previous record of 176 was held by Dak Prescott.
• Patrick Mahomes became the tenth quarterback to defeat all 31 NFL teams excluding the team for which he plays. He also became the youngest to accomplish that feat at age 28 years, 21 days. The previous record of 30 years, 86 days was held by Tom Brady.
• The Miami Dolphins set the record for most total yards in the first five games of the season, with 2,568. The previous record of 2,527 was held by the 2000 St. Louis Rams.

• Dustin Hopkins became the first player to make a field goal of at least 50 yards in five consecutive games.
• Patrick Mahomes became the fastest player to record ten games with at least 400 passing yards, doing so in 87 games. The previous record of 90 games was held by Dan Marino.
• Travis Kelce became the first tight end to record five games with at least ten receptions and 150 receiving yards.
• Myles Garrett set the record for most sacks recorded before a player's 28th birthday, with 82. The previous record of 80 was held by Reggie White.
• Puka Nacua set the record for most receptions by a player in the first seven games of his career, with 58. The previous record of 49 was held by Saquon Barkley.
• Bill Belichick became the third head coach to win 300 career regular season games, joining Don Shula and George Halas.

• Austin Ekeler became the seventh player to have 30 rushing touchdowns and 30 receiving touchdowns in career.
• DeAndre Hopkins tied the record for catching the first career touchdown pass thrown by the most different passers, with four. He shares the record with Joey Galloway and Marvin Harrison.
• Will Levis tied the record for most touchdown passes thrown in player's first NFL game, with four. He shares the record with Marcus Mariota and Fran Tarkenton.
• Tyreek Hill set the Super Bowl era record for most receiving yards through the first eight games of a season, with 1,014. The previous record of 978 yards was held by Torry Holt.

• C. J. Stroud set the record for most passing yards in a game by a rookie, with 470. The previous record of 453 was held by Marc Bulger.
• Stroud also tied the record for most passing touchdowns in a game by a rookie, with five. He shares the record with five other players.
• Stroud also became the first rookie to have at least 400 passing yards, four passing touchdowns, and no interceptions in a game.
• A. J. Cole III set the record for gross punt average in a game, with 63.6 yards. The previous record of 63.0 yards was held by Andy Lee.
• Taysom Hill became the first player in the Super Bowl era to have at least ten touchdowns passing, rushing, and receiving in his career.
• Joshua Dobbs became the first player to have three touchdowns in back-to-back weeks while playing for different teams.
• Brandon Aubrey set the record for most consecutive field goals made without a miss to start his ultimately with 35. The previous record of 18 was held by Travis Coons.
• All four teams in the AFC North had a record of at least two games above.500 after this week concluded, marking the first time all four teams in one division were two games or more above.500 after Week 9 since the divisional realignment.

• C. J. Stroud became the second rookie to pass for 800 yards in a two-game span, joining Cam Newton.
• Stroud also tied the record for most games with at least 350 passing yards by a rookie, with three. He shares the record with Newton and Andrew Luck.
• Justin Herbert set the record for most passing yards in a player's first four seasons, currently with 16,438. The previous record of 16,418 was held by Dan Marino.
• CeeDee Lamb became the first wide receiver since at least 1950 to have at least ten receptions, 150 receiving yards, a receiving touchdown, and a rushing touchdown in the same game.
• Six games ended with game-winning field goals as time expired, setting a record for one week.

• Josh Allen set the record for most total touchdowns in a player's first six seasons, currently with 205. The previous record of 204 was held by Patrick Mahomes.
• Tyreek Hill became the first player in the Super Bowl era to have at least 1,200 receiving yards in his team's first ten games of a season.
• Jalen Hurts set the record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in his first four seasons, currently with 35. The previous record of 33 was held by Cam Newton.

• DaRon Bland set the record for most interception return touchdowns in a season, with five. The previous record of four was shared by Eric Allen, Ken Houston, and Jim Kearney.
• Jalen Hurts became the first quarterback to have at least 10 rushing touchdowns in three consecutive seasons.
• Hurts also set the record for most games with at least two rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, with 11. The previous record of 10 was held by Cam Newton.
• C. J. Stroud became the first rookie to have at least 300 passing yards in four consecutive games.
• Lamar Jackson became the fourth quarterback to have 5,000 career rushing yards, joining Newton, Michael Vick, and Russell Wilson. Jackson also became the fastest to reach this mark, doing so in 82 games. The previous record of 104 games was held by Vick.
• Patrick Mahomes set the record for most games with at least two passing touchdowns in a player's first seven seasons, currently with 66. The previous record of 65 was held by Dan Marino.
• Travis Kelce became the fourth tight end to reach 11,000 career receiving yards, joining Antonio Gates, Tony Gonzalez, and Jason Witten. Kelce became the fastest to reach this mark, doing so in 154 games. The previous record of 191 games was held by Gonzalez.

• C. J. Stroud set the record for the most passing yards by a rookie in a five-game span, with 1,740. The previous record of 1,625 yards was held by Andrew Luck.
• Tyreek Hill set the record for the most games in a season with at least 150 receiving yards and a touchdown, with five. The previous record of four was shared by five players.
• Christian McCaffrey became the third player to have at least 50 rushing touchdowns and 25 receiving touchdowns, joining Marshall Faulk and Lenny Moore.
• Mike Evans improved his own record for the most seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards to start a player's career, with 10.
• Evans also became the third player to have at least 10 seasons with at least 1,000 receiving yards at any point in his career, joining Randy Moss and Jerry Rice.
• The New England Patriots became the first team in the Super Bowl era to lose three straight games despite allowing 10 or fewer points in each game.

• Deebo Samuel became the second player to have 100 receiving yards, a receiving touchdown, and a rushing touchdown in consecutive games, joining Timmy Brown.
• Joe Flacco became the 19th quarterback to List of [National Football League career quarterback wins leaders|win 100 career starts].
• Jake Browning set the record for highest completion percentage in his first three starts, completing 79.3% of his pass attempts. The previous record of 77.4% was held by Chad Pennington.
• Keenan Allen became the fastest player to have 900 receptions, doing so in 139 games. The previous record of 143 games was held by Antonio Brown.
• The Dallas Cowboys became the first team to score at least 30 points in each of its first seven home games of a season.

• Josh Allen set the record for most games in a season with both a passing touchdown and a rushing touchdown, with ten. The previous record of nine was held by Kyler Murray.
• The Las Vegas Raiders set the record for most points scored in the first half of a game after being shutout the previous game, with 42. The previous record of 34 was held by the 1927 Frankford Yellow Jackets.

• Josh Allen became the second quarterback to have 50 rushing touchdowns in his career, joining Cam Newton.
• Amari Cooper became the second player to have 200 receiving yards in a game for three different teams, joining Terrell Owens.
• Justin Jefferson set the record for most receiving yards in a player's first four seasons, currently with 5,648. The previous record of 5,512 was held by Michael Thomas.
• Jalen Hurts set the record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a season, with 15. The previous record of 14 was held by Newton.

• Lamar Jackson became the fifth player to have at least three games with a perfect passer rating.
• Patrick Mahomes became the second player to have 4,000 passing yards in at least six of his first seven seasons, joining Peyton Manning.
• The Cleveland Browns became the first team to qualify for the postseason while having four quarterbacks make multiple starts.
• Josh Allen tied Jalen Hurts' record for most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback in a season with 15.
• The Pittsburgh Steelers became the second team to have 20 consecutive seasons with a winning percentage of.500 or better, joining the 1965–85 Dallas Cowboys.

• Puka Nacua set the record for the most receiving yards by a rookie in a season, with 1,486. The previous record of 1,463 yards was held by Bill Groman.
• Nacua also set the record for the most receptions by a rookie in a season, with 105. The previous record of 104 receptions was held by Jaylen Waddle.
• Montez Sweat became the first player to lead two teams in sacks during the same season since sacks became an official stat in.
• Sam LaPorta set the record for most receptions in a season by a rookie tight end, with 82. The previous record of 81 was held by Keith Jackson.
• LaPorta also became the third rookie tight end with at least 10 receiving touchdowns, joining Mike Ditka and Rob Gronkowski.
• LaPorta and Jahmyr Gibbs became the first pair of rookie teammates to each score at least 10 touchdowns.
• C. J. Stroud became the fifth player to have at least 4,000 passing yards in his rookie season.
• Bill Belichick tied the record for most losses by a head coach, with 165. He shares the record with Jeff Fisher and Dan Reeves.
• The AFC North became the first division since the 1935 Western Division to have all its teams finish with a winning record.

• C. J. Stroud tied the record for most touchdown passes in a playoff game by a rookie, with three. He shares the record with Sammy Baugh, Dak Prescott, and Brock Purdy.
• Stroud also became the youngest starting quarterback to win a playoff game at age 22 years, 102 days. The previous record of 22 years, 192 days was held by Michael Vick.
• The Green Bay Packers tied the record for most postseason wins by a franchise, with 37. They share the record with the New England Patriots.
• Green Bay also became the first 7-seed to win a playoff game.

• Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce set the record for most postseason touchdown passes by a passer-receiver duo, with 16. The previous record of 15 was held by Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski.

• Travis Kelce set the record for most career receptions in the postseason, currently with 156. The previous record of 151 was held by Jerry Rice.
• Kelce also tied the record for most career postseason games with at least 100 receiving yards, with eight. He shares the record with Rice.

• Jake Moody set the record for the longest field goal in a Super Bowl, with a 55-yard kick. Later in the game, Harrison Butker broke Moody's record with a 57-yard field goal. The previous record of 54 yards was held by Steve Christie.
• Butker set the record for most career field goals made in the Super Bowl, with nine. The previous record of eight was shared by Adam Vinatieri and Stephen Gostkowski.
• Moody became the first player to convert two field goals of at least 50 yards in the same Super Bowl.
• Patrick Mahomes set the record for most career rushing yards in the Super Bowl by a quarterback, with 172. The previous record of 105 was held by Joe Montana.
• Jauan Jennings became the second player to have a passing and receiving touchdown in the same Super Bowl, joining Nick Foles.
• The game set the record for the longest Super Bowl in terms of game time, at 74 minutes, 57 seconds. The previous record of 63 minutes, 58 seconds was set in Super Bowl LI. This game also joined Super Bowl LI to become the second Super Bowl to go into overtime.

Awards

Individual season awards

All-Pro team

Players of the Week/Month