After very few kickoffs were attempted this season including none in Super Bowl LVIII, it sounds like the league is considering some major changes to the kickoff format.
According to a report from Judy Battista of the NFL Network, the league’s competition committee is considering moving to the XFL model for kickoffs.
“Competition Committee discussed at length the XFL kickoff. A source says there could be a proposal for a March vote on a version of the XFL model as a way to address the kickoff — too few returns this season. NFL wants to keep the return in the game, while making the play safer,” Battista said in a post on X, the social media website that was formerly known as Twitter.
“The XFL kickoff model has KO and return teams lined up 5 yards apart, well down the field from the kicker. The NFL could put together a version of that for consideration this spring. In 2023, only about 20 % of kickoffs were returned,” Battista said in a follow-up post.
The reason for the proposed changes, as Battista explains, is that the league wants to encourage more kickoffs to be returned while still making the play safer for everyone.
“Context for why the NFL is trying to address the kickoff. Last year, the return rate was just 22 percent. But the rate of concussion on returns is double any other football play. How do you increase the return rate, while reducing the concussion rate?” Battista said in a post.
It would certainly be a significant change. We’ll have to see whether or not it’s ultimately adopted ahead of the 2024 NFL season.
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