Kickoffs continue to be under the spotlight in the NFL. The league has made changes to the play in an attempt to reduce injuries — particularly concussions — and has continued to make tweaks in an effort to find a balance between player safety and the excitement of the play.
This year, the league’s competition committee has proposed five rule changes to be considered at next week’s league meetings in Phoenix, and three of them deal with kickoffs. Let’s take a look at the potential changes that will be discussed by the NFL’s decision-makers.
Onside kicks
In addition to the regular deep kickoff, onside kicks have undergone some significant changes. A few years ago, the NFL implemented rules that allowed teams to attempt onside kicks only in the fourth quarter when trailing. Teams also had to declare an onside kick beforehand, eliminating the element of surprise that Sean Payton and the New Orleans Saints made famous in 2010 at the Super Bowl.
Last year, the fourth-quarter stipulation was removed, and a team that was trailing could attempt an onside kick at any point in the game. The proposal on the table this year is to remove the scoreboard stipulation and allow teams to attempt an onside kick, whether they are trailing, tied or leading. The change would help bring back some of the spontaneity, though teams would still be required to declare their intention to try an onside kick.
The 50-yard-line kickoff loophole
As the kickoff rules evolved, teams found a loophole that was convenient to exploit. The penalty for a kickoff out of bounds is that the receiving team gets the ball 25 yards from where the ball was kicked. On a standard kickoff, teams kick from their own 35-yard line, meaning kicking the ball out of bounds would give the receiving team a short field by getting the ball from their own 40-yard line.
However, when a 15-yard penalty against the receiving team is applied before the kickoff, the kicking team kicks the ball from midfield. That means the 25-yard penalty for kicking out of bounds puts the receiving team at its own 25-yard line. Kicking the ball into or out of the back of the end zone results in the receiving team getting the ball at their own 30-yard line. Bouncing the kickoff through the landing zone and into the end zone for a touchback gives the receiving team the ball at their own 20-yard line.
The competition committee’s proposal would eliminate the kicking team’s incentive to intentionally kick the ball out of bounds when kicking off from the 50-yard line.
Kickoff formation for the receiving team
The competition committee is proposing some modifications to the kickoff alignment requirements for receiving team players in the setup zone.
Instead of a minimum of six players lined up with their front foot on the receiving team’s restraining line, the committee is seeking to reduce the requirement to five. Among the remaining players who are not on the restraining line, the committee is looking to bump up the maximum number of players permitted in the setup zone to four instead of three, but never more than two players in each of the three areas within the setup zone bordered by the sidelines and inbounds lines.
If there are four players in the setup zone not on the restraining line, there must be at least one player lined up between the sideline and inbounds line on each side of the field.
Player disqualification measures
The new element of Rule 19, Section 2 would allow league personnel to consult with on-field officials when considering disqualifications for both flagrant football fouls and non-football acts that were not called on the field.
If a flagrant infraction is not called on the field, designated members of the officiating department at the league offices could determine before the next legal snap or kick whether the action qualifies as a flagrant violation, and they can consult with the on-field officials regarding a potential disqualification of the offending player.
Temporary aid for replacement referees
The NFL is currently working to come to a collective bargaining agreement with the NFL Referees Association. If the league is unable to reach an agreement in time for the regular season and has to resort to hiring replacement officials, this proposal from the competition committee seeks to allow the NFL Officiating Department to correct clear and obvious missed calls by on-field officials that impact the game.
This rule would only apply for this season because of the potential failure by the NFL and the Referees Association to reach a new agreement.
In addition to the five changes proposed by the NFL’s competition committee, there will also be a vote on proposals from two teams. The Cleveland Browns submitted a proposal seeking to allow teams to trade draft selections up to five seasons in the future. The Pittsburgh Steelers are seeking a rule that would allow teams to have a video meeting or phone call for as long as 60 minutes with up to five unrestricted free agents during the two-day legal tampering period that precedes the start of free agency and the new league year. The Steelers’ proposal was in place on a temporary basis during this past free-agency period.
To gain approval, any proposed rule must get an affirmative vote from at least 24 of the 32 teams.