NFL shortens overtime to 10 minutes

NFL owners voted to approve several rule changes at the spring league meeting in Chicago on Tuesday, including shortening overtime periods to 10 minutes after the idea was proposed at the annual league meeting in March.

The owners also voted to allow two players to return off the injured reserve list during the season instead of one and to eliminate the waves of preseason roster cuts and create one deadline to set a 53-man roster.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is also expected to inform owners that celebrations after touchdowns -- including group celebrations, using the ball as a prop, going to the ground and creating snow angels -- are now allowed, according to USA Today's Tom Pelissero.

The league's decision to shorten overtime by five minutes is intended to improve player safety, NFL Network reports. According to NFL Research, 22 of the league's 83 overtime periods over the past five years have lasted at least 10 minutes.

At the league's annual meeting in March, owners banned leaping over the offensive line to block kicks, approved instant ejections for egregious head-to-head hits and OK'd centralized replay review from the NFL officiating command center in New York.