The NFL has actively been working at making kickoffs safer for players, but the recent rule changes have made kickoff returns nearly non-existent. Last season only 22 percent of kickoffs were returned, while none of the 13 kickoffs in the Super Bowl between the Chiefs and 49ers were returned, per CBS Sports. The odds became much better for players to avoid concussions, but it began to feel that the kickoff was unnecessary.
Instead of doing away with kickoffs all together, the league has borrowed a innovation used in the XFL kickoffs, which should mean more returns while still lowering the percentage of concussions.
Kicking off a new era: Owners just approved the NFL Hybrid Kickoff rule, per source.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 26, 2024
After years of tweaks turned one of the game’s most exciting moments into a “dead, ceremonial play”, the league hopes this overhaul will yield what it wants: fewer injuries and more returns. pic.twitter.com/jHLAjZJm0z
The new rule will limit the running start blockers and defenders have during kickoffs, as they won’t be able to move until the ball is caught and they will line up much closer to each other, as you can see in NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero’s visual above.
Buffalo Bills’ beat writer Sal Capaccio gives us a good rundown of the various rules theses changes will bring.
Play starts when the ball is either caught or hits the ground in the landing zone, or is returned from the end zone.
Any kick that bounces from the landing zone (first 20 yards of the field) into the end zone must be either returned or downed for a touchback, giving the receiving team the ball at their own 20 yard line
If the kick fails to reach the landing zone in the air, the receiving team takes possession at their own 40 yard
If the ball goes all the way to the end zone in the air, the receiving team can either return it, or down it and take possession at their own 35 yard line
If the ball goes out of bounds, the receiving team takes possession at their own 40 yard line
Onside kicks are only permitted in the fourth quarter, only when trailing in score, and must be declared. Then the kicking team can line up in an onside kick formation according to current onside kick rules.
After a safety or penalty, the set up and landing zones will not change. Only the spot of the kick will change.
Players can’t move until ball hits the ground OR a player in landing zone or end zone
Kicker can’t cross 50 until that happens
No fair catches
If ball falls off tee 2x, kicker can use kicking stick. Official will pick it up
These rules are tweaked a bit from the XFL rules, but the XFL did see a decrease in concussions, while adding a larger percentage of returns.
These new rules will likely give kick returners a lot of space to work with and push the average return distance up. We also could see bigger players versus faster players on the kickoff team, as they will need to get through blocks more than speed past them.
Here’s what it looks like in practice. The new kickoff will take some getting used to, but all signs point to this being a good change for the league.
Here’s what the new NFL kickoff will look like this season: pic.twitter.com/vtR5bqGZLK
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) March 26, 2024
And, just to give you more to chew on, this explainer from NFL Football Operations is helpful in wrapping your head around the changes.
To address the lowest kickoff return rate in @NFL history during the 2023 season and concern for player health and safety, the NFL Competition Committee has proposed a new kickoff rule.
— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) March 22, 2024
If adopted by NFL clubs, the new rule will keep the excitement of kickoff returns in the… pic.twitter.com/0ltQpSrAvC