There could be another change to the kickoff rule in the NFL.
The NFL committee is said to be “proposing changes to the sport’s year-old kickoff format,” according to Mark Maske of The Washington Post. The said changes would entail “moving the spot of the football on touchbacks on kickoffs,” with the goal of seeing more returns happen.
That was already the intention in 2024 when the NFL instituted what it believed to be a solution to low kickoff return rates that were at their lowest in the 2023 campaign. In 2024, teams spotted touchbacks at the 30-yard line. But in the new proposal that is “expected to be submitted in time for next week's league meetings” (h/t Kevin Seifert of ESPN), the spot would be moved back to the 35-yard line.
Last season, the kickoff return rate reportedly went up from 21.8 percent in 2023 to 32.8 percent, according to NFL Football Operations.
With new changes comes new strategies for NFL teams when it comes to approaching kickoffs and touchbacks. Of course, the noise about the plan to give teams starting field position at the 35-yard line has also sparked lots of sentiments from fans online.
“Just go back to the old kickoff jeez,” commented a fan on a post by Ari Meirov of The 33rd Team about the proposed change.
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Another one said: “touchbacks are gonna be moved to midfield in the near future at this rate 💀”
“At this rate, touchbacks will start at the opponent’s 10-yard line by 2030💀,” echoed another X (formerly Twitter) user.
From a different commenter: “Nah it’s good where it is, already feel like one good play after a touchback and you’re in the redzone 💀”
“At this rate, why not just eliminate kickoffs and spot the offense at the 20. Bring back regular kickoffs & returns,” one said.
“Can we just revert to the original kickoff this new s**t lame asf. Even lamer in madden,” chimed in another X user.
a]:text-link [&_>a]:underline">Rexwell Villas is an experienced sports writer covering a variety of sports, including the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and college football. He's a Communications Arts graduate from the University of Santo Tomas in the Philippines.