There should be more kickoff returns in the NFL going forward.
At the league meetings on Tuesday, owners changed the format for kickoffs to promote more returns.
It’s also a nod to the spring leagues, which already were focused on adding that element back into the game.
The new rule is in place on a one-year trial basis. So they’ll give it a shot and it’ll be subject to renewal in 2025. https://t.co/jKKxfCsScw
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 26, 2024
Here’s the final summary on the NFL Hybrid Kickoff that owners approved today on a one-year trial basis. pic.twitter.com/FYKaytdwka
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 26, 2024
Per NFL.com:
The passed kickoff rule features new alignments for both the kicking and receiving units. A “landing zone,” the area between the receiving team’s goal line and its 20-yard line, would prompt action off the kickoff if the ball were to land in that sector.
Kickoffs will remain at the 35-yard line, but the remaining 10 players on the kicking unit will line up at the opposing team’s 40-yard line. The receiving team lines up with at least seven players in the “set-up zone,” a five-yard area between their own 35- and 30-yard lines, with a maximum of two returners can line up in the landing zone.
After the ball is kicked, the kicker cannot cross the 50-yard line and the 10 kicking team players cannot move until the ball hits the ground or a player in the landing zone or goes into the end zone. The receiving team’s players in the set-up zone also cannot move until the kick has hit the ground or a player in the landing zone or the end zone. The returner(s) may move at any time before or during the kickoff.
This is a one-year trial basis.
Additionally, the trade deadline has been pushed back a week.
Among the rule changes at the NFL’s Annual Meeting, the trade deadline has been pushed back a week to the day after Week 9 is completed. pic.twitter.com/NbnkHHC0FJ
— Mike Garafolo (@MikeGarafolo) March 26, 2024
