NFL reassigns backup refs to work games closer to home

The NFL announced Friday that officiating assignments for Week 10 have been adjusted due to the ongoing nationwide impact to air travel, reassigning officials to games within driving distance of their hometowns. The changes necessitate that three backup referees — umpires Barry Anderson and Duane Heydt and side judge Don Willard — will work as referees in four games on Sunday.

Willard will handle the Miami-Indianapolis game at 1:00 p.m. ET and then make the 109-mile trip from Indianapolis to Cincinnati for the Sunday night Pittsburgh-Cincinnati game. The situation creates the likely unprecedented situation of a referee working two games in one day, made more unusual because Willard's usual crew led by referee Scott Novak wasn't scheduled to work at all this weekend.

Duane Heydt will referee Carolina-New Orleans, and Barry Anderson will referee Jacksonville-Tennessee. The originally scheduled referees for those games were Shawn Smith for Panthers-Saints, Alex Moore for Jaguars-Titans, Carl Cheffers for Dolphins-Colts, and Clete Blakeman for Steelers-Bengals.

The league's statement does not address where the displaced referees will be working or what their roles will be, nor does it specify other shifts required for the established crews that work together throughout the regular season. Each of the league's 17 officiating crews has a backup referee identified who trains throughout the year to work at the referee position should the need arise.