A change to the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s eligibility bylaws could fast-track Bill Belichick’s inevitable induction.

The Hall of Fame on Friday announced it was cutting the mandatory post-retirement waiting period for coaches from five seasons to one.

Because the selection process for next year’s Hall of Fame class already is underway, Belichick is not eligible for induction in 2025, according to multiple reports. But the legendary former Patriots coach could receive his gold jacket and bust in Canton as early as 2026.

Had the previous waiting period still been in effect, Belichick would not have been eligible for Hall of Fame consideration until 2029. Given his unparalleled resume – eight Super Bowl championships, including six as head coach with New England – he’ll undoubtedly be a first-ballot inductee.

That timeline could be delayed, however, if Belichick is hired by another team ahead of the 2025 season. He interviewed with the Atlanta Falcons after parting ways with the Patriots this offseason but lost out on that job to Raheem Morris.

Rather than coaching this season, Belichick will work as an analyst for several media companies, including gigs with ESPN, “Inside the NFL” and Underdog Fantasy. He is 14 wins shy of Don Shula’s all-time record.

Under the new rules, only one head coach can be elected to the Hall of Fame each year.

CARDINALS: Arizona receiver Zay Jones was suspended without pay for the first five games of the season for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, the league announced.

The league did not disclose a reason for the suspension. In 2023, Jones was arrested on a misdemeanor battery charge in Florida. According to police, he got into a custody argument with the mother of his child and left fingernail scratches on her neck. The charge was dropped in March.

The 29-year-old will be eligible to return for the Cardinals’ Oct. 13 game at Green Bay.

• Arizona rookie defensive lineman Darius Robinson has a calf injury and was set to undergo tests on Friday to determine the extent of the problem.

Robinson was the No. 27 overall pick in the NFL draft out of Missouri and has been expected to contribute immediately. It’s been a tough preseason for Arizona’s pass rush, which already lost linebacker BJ Ojulari for the year with a knee injury.

TRADE: Seattle traded linebacker Darrell Taylor to the Chicago Bears for a sixth-round pick in the 2025 NFL draft.

Taylor has appeared in 49 games, including 13 starts, over three seasons. The 2020 second-round pick out of Tennessee missed his rookie season because of a leg injury. Taylor shared the team lead with 91/2 sacks in 2022.

BEARS: Cornerback Douglas Coleman III was released from a Kansas City hospital and returned to Chicago after he was injured while making a tackle during a preseason game against the Chiefs.

“He was walking around,” Bears Coach Matt Eberflus told a Chicago radio station. “I did talk to him. He’s in good spirits.”

Coleman, 26, was immobilized on a stretcher and taken from Arrowhead Stadium in an ambulance on Thursday night after tackling the Chiefs’ Cornell Powell on the first play of the second half.

RAMS: Left tackle Alaric Jackson was suspended without pay for the first two games of the season for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, the league announced.

Jackson started 15 games and a playoff game at left tackle last season. He has been the Rams’ starting left tackle for most of the past two seasons since Andrew Whitworth’s retirement, although he missed half of the 2022 season because of blood clots in his leg.

Jackson returned to the Rams on a one-year contract this season after signing his restricted free agent tender for $4.89 million.