2023 Wild Card Playoffs
NFL assigns officiating crews for the 2023-24 Wild Card Playoffs
The six referees for Wild Card Weekend have been announced.
Football Zebras has confirmed the officiating crews for the Wild Card Playoffs. This is the fourth year of the expanded playoff system with six Wild Card Playoff games.
In 2020, the NFL moved to five alternates for the early postseason rounds, which will continue this season. The alternate officials are a referee, an umpire, a line of scrimmage official (down judge or line judge), a deep wing official (field judge or side judge), and a back judge. Officials who have alternate assignments are still eligible for an on-field assignment in the Divisional Playoffs or Conference Championships. Past practice is that the on-field Wild Card officials do not work another on-field assignment, although it is possible to see a double assignment for some isolated reasons. In any event, none of the officials listed here, including the alternates, would be receiving a Super Bowl assignment, other than as an alternate.
All times are Eastern. The prior playoff experience that is listed for the crew chief includes his service as an NFL official, including as referee and any other crew position (excluding alternate assignments).
AFC Wild Card: Browns at Texans, 4:30 p.m. NBC Peacock
Clay Martin is the referee, who is in his 9th season and 6th as referee. This is Martin’s 5th postseason assignment, including 4 Wild Card Playoffs and a Divisional Playoff.
| Yrs | 2023 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 19 | Clay Martin | 9 | Oklahoma Baptist | retired high school administrator and basketball coach | |
| U | 110 | Tab Slaughter | 4 | Eck | Arkansas State | chief operating officer |
| DJ | 11 | Fred Bryan | 15 | Eck | Northern Iowa | superintendent, juvenile correctional facility |
| LJ | 98 | Greg Bradley | 15 | Martin | Tennessee | chemical engineer |
| FJ | 80 | Alonzo Ramsey | 2 | Martin | Howard | banking |
| SJ | 107 | Dave Hawkshaw | 5 | Martin | Justice Institute of British Columbia | firefighter, former CFL official |
| BJ | 119 | Greg Wilson | 16 | Martin | USC | retired police officer |
| RO | Brian Matoren | 19 | Martin | Florida | writer/producer | |
| RA | Bryant Thompson | 1 | Martin | |||
| ALT | R | Scott Novak | 10 | Phoenix | sales manager | |
| ALT | U | Tony Michalek | 22 | Blake | Indiana | chief executive officer |
| ALT | LJ | Carl Johnson | 20 | Hussey | Nicholls State | retired sales manager, former full-time official |
| ALT | SJ | Eugene Hall | 10 | Cheffers | North Texas | federal agent |
| ALT | BJ | Matt Edwards | 6 | Hussey | Western Michigan | healthcare sales |
AFC Wild Card: Dolphins at Chiefs, 8:15 p.m. Peacock
Brad Rogers is the referee, who is in his 7th season and 5th as referee. This is Rogers’s 2nd postseason assignment, and his first as referee. His first assignment, a Divisional Playoff, was as a field judge.
| Yrs | 2023 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 126 | Brad Rogers | 7 | Lubbock Christian | college professor | |
| U | 128 | Ramon George | 8 | Rogers | Lenoir-Rhyne | financial underwriter |
| DJ | 79 | Kent Payne | 20 | Rogers | Nebraska Wesleyan | agribusinessman |
| LJ | 16 | Kevin Codey | 9 | Rogers | Western New England | middle school physical education teacher |
| FJ | 23 | Tra Boger | 2 | Novak | Tulane | assistant principal |
| SJ | 58 | Don Willard | 6 | Blake | Illinois State | physical therapist |
| BJ | 111 | Terrence Miles | 16 | Novak | Arizona State | quality control manager |
| RO | Matt Sumstine | 6 | Novak | Phoenix | real estate | |
| RA | Tim England | 2 | Novak | |||
| ALT | R | Clete Blakeman | 16 | Nebraska | attorney | |
| ALT | U | Roy Ellison | 21 | Hill | Savannah State | IT engineer |
| ALT | DJ | Danny Short | 7 | Kemp | North Carolina-Charlotte | executive director, global sales operations |
| ALT | SJ | David Meslow | 13 | Novak | Augsburg College | sales executive |
| ALT | BJ | Tony Josselyn | 6 | Torbert | Eastern Kentucky | probation officer |
NFC Wild Card: Packers at Cowboys, 4:30 p.m. Fox
Ron Torbert is the referee, who is in his 14th season and 10th as referee. This is Torbert’s 12th postseason assignment, including 4 Wild Card Playoffs, 6 Divisional Playoffs, 1 Conference Championship, and Super Bowl LVI.
| Yrs | 2023 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 62 | Ron Torbert | 14 | Michigan State | attorney | |
| U | 92 | Bryan Neale | 10 | Smith | Indiana | sales consultant |
| DJ | 21 | Max Causey | 2 | Torbert | Louisiana Tech | financial advisor |
| LJ | 10 | Julian Mapp | 15 | Blakeman | Grambling State | software quality assurance tester |
| FJ | 25 | Ryan Dickson | 7 | Torbert | Utah | commercial real estate developer |
| SJ | 114 | Dominique Pender | 4 | Clark | Howard | trade support, finance and banking |
| BJ | 30 | Todd Prukop | 15 | Blake | Cal State-Fullerton | medical sales representative |
| RO | Jamie Nicholson | 6 | Hussey | Ferris State | teacher | |
| RA | RA | Larry Hill Jr. | 2 | Hussey | Hampton | judge |
| ALT | R | John Hussey | 22 | Idaho State | sales representative | |
| ALT | U | Paul King | 15 | Clark | Nichols College | teacher |
| ALT | DJ | Sarah Thomas | 9 | Allen | Mobile | sales representative |
| ALT | FJ | Rick Patterson | 28 | Allen | Wofford | banker |
| ALT | BJ | Greg Yette | 14 | Allen | Howard | defense contractor |
NFC Wild Card: Rams at Lions, 8:15 p.m. NBC Peacock
Craig Wrolstad is the referee, who is in his 21st season and 10th as referee. This is his 14th postseason assignment, including 7 Wild Card Playoffs, 4 Divisional Playoffs, 2 Conference Championships, and Super Bowl XLVII. His Super Bowl assignment was as a field judge.
| Yrs | 2023 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 4 | Craig Wrolstad | 21 | Washington | athletic director | |
| U | 131 | Mark Pellis | 10 | Novak | Allegheny | financial advisor |
| DJ | 48 | Jim Mello | 20 | Wrolstad | Northeastern | facilities manager |
| LJ | 37 | Tripp Sutter | 5 | Wrolstad | Nebraska | biopharmaceutical rep |
| FJ | 60 | Jeff Shears | 2 | Wrolstad | Denver | professor |
| SJ | 104 | Dale Shaw | 11 | Eck | Allegheny | pharmaceutical sales |
| BJ | 82 | Jimmy Russell | 5 | Vinovich | Pasco Hernando State | insurance agent |
| RO | Kevin Stine | 6 | Wrolstad | Alabama-Birmingham | regional sales manager | |
| RA | Gavin Anderson | 5 | Wrolstad | Green River | police officer | |
| ALT | R | Alex Kemp | 10 | Central Michigan | insurance agent | |
| ALT | U | Bruce Stritesky | 18 | ͺ[swing] | Embry Riddle | airline pilot |
| ALT | DJ | Jerod Phillips | 8 | Martin | Northeastern State | real estate agent |
| ALT | SJ | Keith Washington | 16 | Torbert | Virginia Military Institute | program financial analyst |
| ALT | BJ | Greg Meyer | 22 | Eck | Texas Christian | banker |
AFC Wild Card: Steelers at Bills, 4:30 p.m. CBS Paramount+
Carl Cheffers is the referee, who is in his 24th season and 16th as referee. This is Cheffers’s 19th postseason assignment, including 6 Wild Card Playoffs, 7 Divisional Playoffs, 3 Conference Championships, and Super Bowls LI, LV, and LVII. All of his Super Bowl assignments were as a referee.
This game was rescheduled from Sunday afternoon due to a snow emergency.
| Yrs | 2023 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 51 | Carl Cheffers | 24 | California-Irvine | sales manager | |
| U | 22 | Brandon Cruse | 2 | Cheffers | South Dakota School of Mines & Technology | management consultant |
| DJ | 63 | Mike Carr | 7 | Cheffers | Wisconsin | athletic director |
| LJ | 87 | Tom Eaton | 4 | Cheffers | Central Florida | fiscal manager |
| FJ | 26 | Jabir Walker | 9 | Clark | Murray State | middle school teacher |
| SJ | 41 | Boris Cheek | 28 | Allen | Morgan State | retired director of operations and management |
| BJ | 120 | Jonah Monroe | 9 | Blakeman | Arkansas | engineer |
| RO | Kevin Brown | 5 | Cheffers | Purdue | retired air traffic controller | |
| RA | Gerald Frye | 4 | Eck | Gannon | veterinarian | |
| ALT | R | Brad Allen | 10 | Pembroke State | non-profit CEO | |
| ALT | U | Alex Moore | 2 | Vinovich | St. Petersburg | compliance manager |
| ALT | DJ | Tom Stephan | 25 | Clark | Pittsburg State | retired business broker |
| ALT | SJ | Jim Quirk | 13 | Hill | Middlebury | financial advisor |
| ALT | BJ | Scott Helverson | 21 | Kemp | Iowa | sales, printing and promotions |
NFC Wild Card: Eagles at Buccaneers, 8:15 p.m. ABC ESPN ESPN2 ESPN+
Adrian Hill is the referee, who is in his 14th season and 5th as referee. This is Hill’s 5th postseason assignment, including 4 Wild Card Playoffs and a Divisional Playoff.
| Yrs | 2023 crew | College | Occupation | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | 29 | Adrian Hill | 14 | Buffalo | aerospace software engineer | |
| U | 42 | Duane Heydt | 2 | Allen | South Carolina | statistician and real-estate investor |
| DJ | 24 | David Oliver | 7 | Hill | Baker | information systems manager |
| LJ | 75 | Mark Stewart | 6 | Novak | Pittsburg State | rancher |
| FJ | 31 | Mearl Robinson | 7 | Hill | Air Force | retired U.S. Air Force instructor |
| SJ | 99 | Lo van Pham | 2 | Blakeman | Colorado | engineer/project manager |
| BJ | 12 | Greg Steed | 21 | Hill | Howard | computer systems analyst |
| RO | Roddy Ames | 6 | Hill | Colby College | attorney | |
| RA | Joe Wollan | 4 | Hill | St. Thomas | recruiting | |
| ALT | R | Land Clark | 6 | Sevier Valley Tech | chief building official | |
| ALT | U | Steve Woods | 7 | Wrolstad | Wabash | financial advisor |
| ALT | DJ | Patrick Turner | 10 | Blake | Cal State-Long Beach | plant manager |
| ALT | FJ | Joe Blubaugh | 4 | Vinovich | Pittsburg State | regional sales manager |
| ALT | BJ | Rich Martinez | 10 | Hochuli | Canisius | sales manager |
