New proposal for NFL kickoffs would include major change to onside kicks

San Francisco 49ers TE George Kittle recovers an onside kick

The NFL is exploring some significant changes to kickoffs this offseason and one of them would have a major impact with onside kicks.

Several NFL special teams coordinators presented a proposal to NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL Competition Committee earlier this week. The proposal calls for the kicking and receiving teams to line up at the receiving team’s 40- and 35-yard lines, respectively. Aside from the kicker and one or two return men, players would not be permitted to move until the ball reaches the “target zone,” which is the area between the 20-yard line and the goal line.

If the ball landed in the target zone and the receiving team let it roll into the end zone, the result would be a touchback where the receiving team gets possession at the 20. If the ball was kicked into the end zone in the air, the result would be a touchback at the 35-yard line. If the kick did not reach the target zone in the air, the play would be treated like a kickoff out of bounds and the receiving team would get possession at the 40. That rule would likely prevent teams from trying to squib kick into the end zone for a touchback at the 20.

Tom Pelissero of NFL Network provided a full breakdown of the proposal.

The goal with the proposal is to increase the number of kick returns while reducing injuries, many of which are the result of high-speed collisions between players. Only 20% of kickoffs and free kicks (after safeties) were returned during the 2024 season.

So where does that leave onside kicks? Under the proposal, teams would only be able to attempt an onside kick when trailing in the fourth quarter. They would have to declare that they are attempting an onside kick beforehand, according to Pelissero. The kicking team would then be allowed to use an unbalanced formation to increase the chances of recovering.

The proposal was inspired by the XFL’s kickoff rules, which require 10 players on each team to line up five yards apart on the kickoff. Only the kicker and returner are lined up elsewhere.

It is unclear if NFL Competition Committee and team owners are prepared to approve such radical changes, but obviously the league views kickoffs as an issue. They simply lack excitement, which is why the proposal aims to increase kick returns while addressing the risk of injuries.

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