Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Doug Pederson isn’t a big fan of the NFL’s new kickoff rule, which will allow a team to take the ball at the 25-yard line with a fair catch. He also thinks having Jamal Agnew on the roster ensures it’ll be business as usual for the Jaguars.
“I think teams that have dynamic return guys, it’s not going to affect,” Pederson said of the rule change last week on The Rich Eisen Show. “I look at our guy, Jamal Agnew, and some of the returns he had late in the season, I don’t think it’s going to affect him.
“It’s team by team, case by case. You’ll see it a little bit, but teams that have those returners, man … don’t take the ball out of their hands.”
Pederson later pointed out to Eisen that the league average for starting field position — 28.5 yard line during the 2022 season — was across the 25-yard line, anyway. So teams with the opportunity to try a return probably won’t jump at a new way to forfeit that chance.
Still, many coaches around the league — including the Kansas City Chiefs’ Andy Reid and plenty of special teams coordinators — criticized the rule, as they see it as another attempt to phase kickoff returns out of the game, entirely. Agnew made it clear on Twitter that he isn’t a fan of the change either.
— Mal (@jamalagnew) May 22, 2023
Pederson wasn’t as effusive in his criticism of the rule, but also backed up Reid’s assessment that it takes the NFL game a step closer to being flag football.
“I agree with him,” Pederson said. “I don’t know if it’s the player health and safety, I just don’t know how much that plays into this. It’s a great play. It’s an electric play. It’s a dynamic play. Again, with guys that are electric with the ball in their hands, it’s an exciting play for the fans, as well.”
Agnew, 28, returned 21 kicks back 547 yards (26.0 yards per return) during the 2022 season with 205 punt return yards on 25 returns. He was the AFC return specialist in the Pro Bowl after replacing the Baltimore Ravens’ Devin Duvernay on the roster.
