NFL adopts new kickoff rule, pushes back trade deadline

NFL kickoffs will have a new look in 2024

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.

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.