NFL uses its new officiating bench

Football Zebras exclusive

The NFL officiating department has a new bench of swing officials, and in Week 5 they started to hit the field.

In the offseason, there was a contentious negotiation for the next collective bargaining agreement, which runs to 2033. One of the new terms that was agreed to was to allow the NFL to have a small bench of officials

Vice president of officiating Ramon George brought in six new officials from the Mackie Development Program to become secondary swing officials (or “bench swing” as referred to in the CBA).

Officiating sources have told us that these secondary swing officials are going to be substituted into crews as is done with veteran swing officials. Their first on-field appearance is in Week 5, but they were in the replay booths and sidelines during the beginning of the season. This a slight change in procedure, but starting this during the first bye weeks ensures there are no competitive equity issues. It is also coincidental that it is the same week that two officials were suspended; the Week 5 start was determined at the beginning of the season, and neither vacancy is filled by these officials.

The secondary swing officials will not work every week of the season. One official has an NFL season under his belt. Robert Richeson worked the 2024 season before he was relegated back to college football. Richeson keeps his original uniform number; the others are assigned sequentially from the back of the deck, starting at 134.

A league source stated that the swing bench could be used to replace underperforming officials during the season.

Currently, there is no indication that a secondary swing official that is shadowing a crew during a particular week can suit up as an alternate midgame. In fact, there was at least one instance where an official was injured and a secondary swing official on site did not enter the game.