Broncos trade wide receiver Vance Johnson to the Minnesota Vikings August 26: The Phoenix Cardinals traded wide receiver Ernie Jones to the Los Angeles Rams. August 30: The Atlanta Falcons traded punter Tim Kalal to the Green Bay Packers. August 30: The Kansas City Chiefs trade running back Barry Word to the Minnesota Vikings. August 30: The Kansas City Chiefs trade guard Rich Baldinger to the New England Patriots. October 5: The Los Angeles Rams trade tight end Jim Price to the Dallas Cowboys. October 12: The Atlanta Falcons trade running back Eric Dickerson and cornerback Bruce Pickens to the Green Bay Packers. October 13: The Los Angeles Raiders trade special teams player Elvis Patterson to the Dallas Cowboys, along with a seventh round pick (#216-Toddrick McIntosh), in exchange for a fifth round (#159-Roosevelt Patterson) and a seventh round draft choice (#217-Rob Holmberg). October 19: The Pittsburgh Steelers traded running back Tim Worley to the Chicago Bears. Draft The 1993 NFL Draft was held from April 25 to 26, 1993 at New York City's Marriott Marquis. With the first pick, the New England Patriots selected quarterback Drew Bledsoe from Washington State University. New referee Ron Blum, a line judge from 1985 to 92, was promoted to referee to replace Pat Haggerty, who retired after the 1992 season. In 28 seasons in the NFL, Haggerty was selected as the referee Super Bowl XIII in 1979, XVI in 1982, and XIX in 1985. Major rule changes The Play Clock (the time limit the offensive team has to snap the ball between plays) was reduced from 45 seconds to 40 seconds (the time interval after time outs and other administrative stoppages remained 25 seconds). Ineligible receiver down field prior to a forward pass foul was added. The passer could now legally throw a pass away, without any offensive player having a chance to catch the ball, as long as they are out of the pocket and the ball lands beyond the line of scrimmage. The player taking a snap from the center, upon receiving the ball, can immediately throw the football directly into the ground (i.e. spike) to stop the game clock. The NFL added an extra (second) bye week into the season for each team. The extra bye week was removed in 1994. Preseason American Bowl A series of NFL pre-season exhibition games were held at four varying sites outside the United