NFL sends memo to teams on faking injuries

The NFL sent a memo to all 32 teams this week detailing what would happen if a player fakes an injury so their team could avoid stopping the play clock without burning a timeout, reports NFL.com.

Although there are no obvious examples this season, last year the St. Louis Rams accused the New York Giants of faking injuries.

“To avoid the necessity of a rule with many unattractive qualities, teams are strongly urged to cooperate with this policy,” the memo says. “We are determined to take all necessary steps to ensure that it does not become an issue. We have been fortunate that teams and players have consistently complied with the spirit of the rule over the years and this has not been an issue for the NFL. We are determined to take all necessary steps to ensure that it does not become an issue.”

Any player that is accused of faking injuries will be taking a trip to New York to discuss it with the league. League spokesman Greg Aiello said the memo was sent as an "annual reminder" to team executives.

"Those found to be violators will be subject to appropriate disciplinary action for conduct detrimental to the game," the memo states. "Discipline could include fines of coaches, players, and clubs, suspensions or forfeiture of draft choices."