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The NFL’s new dynamic kickoff is achieving its goals in the preseason of increasing the rate of returns and the threat of big plays after years of increasing touchbacks.
Whether this rule will also apply in the regular season, when coaches may be more concerned with avoiding risk than trying out a new rule, is an open question.
According to the NFL, the average starting position in the second full weekend of exhibition games is the 28.3-yard line, up 4.4 yards from last season.
This has already led to talk that teams might opt to drive the ball deeper into the end zone once the regular season begins, and reduce the risk of a long return by changing the starting spot after a touchback to the 30-yard line.
The NFL is not expected to move the number of touchback spots to 35 — the original spots proposed by the competition committee — from the 30 that owners approved in March on a one-year trial basis.
“It’s not possible,” NFL Chief Football Administrative Officer Don Aponte said Monday. “The way we went through it and discussed it with the competition committee, as well as the membership at large, was really about continuing to evaluate. This is a one-year rule change, so we expect to evaluate it throughout the season.”
Some minor changes have been made this summer as officials and teams talk about the rule, including allowing the kicking team to have a 12th man on the field as a holder if the ball falls off the tee twice. That player must leave the field immediately after the kick.
Aponte said some other adjustments may be made before the season, but he doesn’t expect any changes once the season begins on Sept. 5.
“I think that’s always our goal, that we put the rules in place at the beginning of the season,” she said. “I say never. There are people above my pay grade who decide that. But that’s the goal.”
NFL executive Jeff Miller said 78% of kicks have been returned this preseason, compared to 63% at this time a year ago. 11 kicks have been returned beyond the 40-yard line — nearly double last year’s rate.
The league approved these changes after the kickoff return rate hit an all-time low of 22% the previous season and all 13 kicks in the Super Bowl went for touchbacks. According to Miller, the kickoff was a dangerous play, with an injury rate nearly four times that of the scrimmage play and an overall injury rate nearly double.
The new rule requires at least 19 of the 22 players to line up 10 yards apart at the start of a kick, which is expected to reduce high-speed collisions that cause a lot of injuries.
Dr. Allen Sills, the NFL’s chief medical officer, said it was too early to determine the new rule’s effect on injuries.
The NFL is encouraged that many players are using the new helmets, which tests have shown reduce the rate of concussions. The league has now approved eight position-specific helmets, with Miller estimating that about 200 of the roughly 2,900 players in training camp are using them.
Players using these helmets are not required to wear soft-shell helmet covers known as Guardian Caps during practice, which are required for every position other than the kicker, punter, and quarterback.
“Change is hard,” Sills said. “We all get accustomed to things we like, but I think the players have a lot of confidence in the testing the league and the union have done on these helmets, and the fact that they’re willing to explore these new models shows that.”
The NFL estimated a 50% reduction in concussions among position groups using the Guardian Cap over the past two preseasons, but Miller said the new helmets are equal to or better than the Guardian Cap over older-style helmets.
Players can now wear the Guardians cap in games, and six players did so during the first weekend of preseason games, and five players did so last weekend.
The NFL has changed training camp rules in recent years, hoping to reduce the lower-body injuries that so often plague teams.
The league has accelerated the start of training camp to ease players into the work. Sills said there has been a 29% reduction in time missed due to lower extremity strains during 2023 training camps compared to 2021. There has also been a 50% reduction in stretching during regular-season training camps.
It’s too early to give this year’s numbers, but Sills said it’s still a high priority because NFL players miss longer periods of time with hamstring injuries than with other ailments.
With the 2024 Olympics concluded, the focus now shifts to 2028, when flag football will make its debut at the Los Angeles Olympic Games.
That has sparked the interest of several NFL players. Miller said the league and the NFLPA are in talks with NFL teams about having players under contract participate. The 2028 Olympics are scheduled to be held July 14-30 and could coincide with the traditional start of NFL training camps in late July.
“Obviously, the hope is that players who want to compete in the Olympics and represent their country have the opportunity to do so,” Miller said. “There’s no final answer, but it’s something we’re actively working on.”
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